Secret Agent?
by moo-like-a-llama
Summary: Alex Rider was a secret agent. Key word: Secret. As in hidden...unknown...discrete, undetected, private, stealthy...Well that's all down the drain now...
1. Back to work

Hello lovelies! This is my new Alex Rider story. I've been meaning to write this down for a reeeaally long time, but until yesterday, I'd never gotten around to it. But now here it is, for all of your reading pleasure.

The basic gist? Alex is a secret agent... until the agent part shows through, making the secret part no longer a factor.

I'm open to suggestions. It's my favorite thing in the world when people's reviews say ideas, and things they'd like to see happen, and the way they want the story to go.

Now finally!

Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider in a 'published book' sense. I do however claim him as a boyfriend. He's mine, so back off.

* * *

"And _that_, class, is how you make your very own small explosion." Mr. Brink concluded. The room was filled with 'oos' and 'ahs' when the cork shot to the ceiling from the water bottle on the lab table filled with vinegar and baking soda. Foam poured out of the bottle in a way that vaguely reminded Alex of a volcano.

'_Yeah_,' he thought sarcastically, '_Just like a volcano. Except without the boiling magma, or scolding lava… Or generally any other life threatening feature…. The worst that could happen is you get this in your eye and it stings for a moment. Get lava in your eye on the other hand…_'

"Thank you class! But remember that if you try this at home, you need to ask a parent, and do it outside. I don't need any angry moms yelling at me for teaching their kid to cover their kitchen in vinegar foam." Mr. Brink called over the final school bell. Somehow Alex had managed to day dream long enough to make it through the school day. As if he needed to know how to make vinegar fizzle pathetically out of a water bottle. He'd be better off with a Molotov Cocktail in his line of work.

Speaking of work, Alex hadn't heard from them in a while. It was almost two weeks. Yeah, it doesn't seem like that much time, but for these people, it was. Alex was a little surprised that hadn't contacted him yet… Actually… never mind. He wasn't. He somehow got the feeling that they thought Alex would just know to come, and show up willingly on his own.

"Pft. Like that'll ever happen." He though aloud as he mounted his bike and pulled it away from the school bike rack. He wasn't going anywhere near that place until absolutely necessary. Hopefully, yet highly improbably, but still, wishfully; never.

Alex mindlessly pushed his bicycle peddles and rode home in his zoned-out state of thought. Upon finally reaching his house, he stood his bike in its usual place in the garage, trudged up the front steps to the door and fumbled with his keys.

Nope, that's the key to his bike lock.

Nope, that's the key to the neighbor's house, so he could get in and feed their cats while they were away.

Not this one either, this one's the key to the school. (The janitor dropped them, and Alex thought it useful to make a copy before returning them.)

Nah, this is the key to the basement.

Not this one.

No.

Nope.

Nope.

Nope.

No-

"Oh, Alex!" Jack jumped with shock when she opened the door and found Alex standing in the doorway. "I almost plowed you over, kid, I didn't expect you home already."

"Hey Jack." Alex said, smiling a real smile. Seeing jack always managed to lift Alex from his down-in-the-dump moods. "Where're you headed so fast?" he questioned as he walked through the door, leaving it open for Jack to soon exit. He placed his beat-up backpack down against the wall with a thick 'thud' noise.

"Well if you must know," Jack teased "I have a date."

"Oh?" Alex said, smirking knowingly. He knew Jack well enough to sense any lies in her voice. "With whom?" he asked, raising an eyebrow doubtfully.

Jack glared. "Fine, Mr. Smarty Pants. I'm going grocery shopping. I swear, I haven't met a decent guy in such a long time. They're all either jerks or gay. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but hey, a girl's gotta date, too."

"Yeah."Alex laughed. "Can you pick up some peanut butter?"

"It's on my list" she assured.

"Smooth or crunchy?"

"Does it matter?"

"Of course. Say I'm in school, out in the court yard with my lunch, when all of a sudden I get threatened by a ninja, and the only way he'll spare my life is if I give him a crunchy peanut butter sandwich. If you got smooth peanut butter I'd be dead."

"…… So crunchy?"

"Yeah, crunchy's good."

"Alright kiddo," Jack laughed, "I might stop at the bank, so I probably won't be home for another two hours or so. Can you handle yourself?"

"Mm…" Alex answered sarcastically, "I'm not sure. Maybe we should call a sitter. I wouldn't want to have to tuck _myself_into bed. The thought of taking my nap without a nap-time story is absolutely horrid. Look, see? I'm getting goose bumps just thinking about it." He held out his arm and pointed to the non-existant goosebumps.

"Hardy-har har," Jack said, pulling her arm through the sleeve of her slender red leather jacket. "Be good while I'm gone. Do your homework, answer the phone if it rings, don't do drugs, stay in school, and don't get abducted by international terrorist organizations."

"Sure thing." Alex promised. "See you in a bit."

"Bye!" Jack shouted through the door she already had closed.

Almost immediately after the door locked, the phone rang. The shrill echo made Alex jump. He walked over to the phone, having a feeling he would know who it was, but picked it up anyway.

"Hello?" he said into the plastic telephone.

"Ah, Alex," Mr. Blunt said, with only a miniscule amount of emotion in his voice.

"I thought it would be you, sir. But to be honest, I'm not generally in the mood to deal with 'work' right now," Alex answered hesitantly. For a moment he debated on hanging up, but he knew this was coming, and that it was inevitable, so he continued the loathed conversation.

"Well Alex, if you knew it would be me, and you didn't want to deal with this, why did you pick up?" Blunt spoke back, trying to keep the upper-hand in the conversation, as to keep his authority.

"Jack told me to answer the phone if it rings." Alex answered dryly.

Mr. Blunt paused for a moment confused, but continued to say, "Well since you listened to her, and wound up here with me on the phone let's talk business. As a matter of fact, what say you come down here."

"Jack also told me to do my homework." Alex answered, smirking at the joke.

"Well how about when you finish that? Did your guardian say anything that would stop you _then?_" He asked half rhetorically and very frustrated.

"Lets see…" Alex said calmly, knowing it would annoy Blunt even more if he coolly went along with the question. "She told me not to get abducted by any international terrorist organizations. But it's okay if you send a ninja after me. I'll have a crunchy peanut butter sandwich in just a bit."

And then Blunt was fuming, and Alex knew it. "Boy, you get down to this bank right away, or you'll be seeing a _thousand_ ninjas at your door, ready to drag you here to me and tie you to a chair so you'll listen to what I have to say!"

"Yes sir." Alex replied, suddenly serious again. "I'll be down at the bank in fifteen minutes." He heard the click on the other side of the line, and glared at the phone. "Bye to you, too, sir," He mocked, annoyed.

Alex opened the front door, and grabbed his red, flannel; lumberjack inspired jacket and his keys and began to pull the door shut. That is, until he caught sight of his backpack. Oh. Yeah. That's right. Math homework. Alex paused and debated internally on whether or not he should do his maths first, but then quickly decided that though math actually seemed more enjoyable, 'work' was probably more important. And inevitable. He compromised anyway and wound up bringing the notebook and worksheet with him.

Alex sullenly plodded out the door. It wasn't fair. It just wasn't fair. He was just getting back into the swing of things. Just starting to feel as though school would be a normal occurrence. People were just starting to get used to always having him around. And now, oh so suddenly, WHAM! Ripped out of normal teenage life to be thrown into a world where he didn't belong. But then…

School wasn't really where he belonged either. Just thinking back on the last hour proved that. Everything there would always be fake. The kids would be thinking "Oh, I'd better remember human anatomy so I can pass this test!" and Alex would be thinking "Oh, I'd better remember human anatomy so I can pass the security guards after finding the easiest way to knock them out!"

There should me a middle ground. There should be a secret agent high school. The can call it Secret high. Or Agent school. Or make it a pun off the title of that superhero movie about the kid with the sidekick friends and call it Spy High. And the school would be so teenagers who were also spies could actually have _both_. Spying _and_ high school.

Okay, so it was incredibly farfetched, but it was these daydreams that kept Alex from losing his mind. And so as his mind wandered, Alex mounted his bicycle and pushed hard on the peddle in the direction of the bank that wasn't a bank, and the people that he wouldn't call friends, and in the back of his mind, knew that this wasn't going to end so well…

* * *

And there ye have it maties!! Chapter one. I hope this turnes out to be around thirteen to fifteen chapters around this legnth, but then again, these stories can be so damn unpredictable. There will likely be a fair amount of cursing later on. It only seems natural for a fourteen year old to scream "SHIT!" when a big burly guy in a suit starts chasing him down a narrow hallway.

I'll try to update in about a week. Now lastly, please comment. Even if its just 'good job!' and thats all. Just so long as I have some feed back to fuel me to keep going.

Thanks a bundle!


	2. Breaking the News

Mkay then! So now I have a second chapter! I know i just posted the first one about an hour ago, but I actually wrote it a few days ago... Umm... Thats really it. So here you go.

Disclaimer: Alex Rider is sexy, but sadly, not mine... yet...

* * *

Alex was seated in one of two sensible black chairs facing a sophisticated looking wooden desk. The carpeting on the floor was a white, and the walls were pale blue. Paintings hung perfectly level around the room, and a bookshelf stood in the corner. Behind the desk, there was a large, comfortable looking white leather chair, and further behind that there was a large window with shades half drawn over the glass to prevent any visitor from being blinded by the setting sun.

Had Alex not been extensively trained, the room would look like any other office, with lighting good for working in, and a comfortable atmosphere. But since he was, what he saw was a soundproof box, all bullet proof; including the window. The door and window had enormously protective locks, and the shades would not only prevent the sun from shining in, but any _person_ from seeing in, or out. The layout of the room wasn't feng shui designed, it was all escape based. Easy to get out if you need to, but easy to trap someone in if they try to escape and you were prepared to stop them. He lighting wasn't good so one cold read tiny print on a file or paper, but the lighting was designed in a specific way so that no corner or inch of the room was left in the shadows. There were no places to hide.

And then on course, there was the secret passage. Well, secret to anyone else; obvious to a spy. Alex spotted it the first time had gone into that office. He remembered thinking how tacky and cheesy and cliché it was for secret agents and spies to be using a secret passage. Then he thought some more, and decided, hey, if the shoe fits…… Why not? It could come in handy.

The door burst open and an aloof and impassive man walked through. Without looking at Alex he walked around the desk and sat himself down snuggly in the big white chair. Following him, was a slender woman with her hair in a tight bun, who carried the tell tale scent of peppermint. Once she was stationed directly to the right of Mr. Blunt, Mrs. Jones began to speak.

"Hello Alex." She said politely.

"Hello." Alex replied without looking up from the book on his lap.

"Alex." Mr. Blunt acknowledged, inclining his head.

Alex didn't answer.

"I suppose we should get right to the point, do you agree?"

Alex still didn't look up. He did, however, furrow his eyebrows and put the eraser end of his mechanical pencil to his nose.

"Alex! Boy, is there a reason you're not responding?" Blunt exclaimed.

"Hold on for a sec." Alex stated plainly. Mr. Blunt looked to his right hand woman, confused. She shrugged, and moved the peppermint from one side of her mouth to the other.

"Mrs. Jones?" Alex asked, finally looking at her. "If I had tangent squared X, and I added one, would I be left with secant squared X?"

At that, Mrs. Jones contorted her face in confusion, seeming to be thinking of an answer. Luckily, she didn't have to think very long, as Mr. Blunt quickly answered. He had, after all, graduated with an honors degree in mathematics from Cambridge University.

"Yes. If you were to put one over cosine squared X, you'd be left with the same thing." He said, surprisingly calmly. As soon as he had said it, Alex had sensed something wrong. Blunt didn't do 'calm' and 'patient' unless there was something so terrible that even _he_ felt some emotion from it. Although Alex had sensed something awry, it didn't show. He simply turned his head back down and wrote in 'secant squared X' on his notebook page. Closing the notebook and placing his math under the chair, Alex looked expectantly up at his two superiors.

"What was that all about Alex?" Mrs. Jones asked conversationally and curious.

"Jack told me to make sure I got my homework done." Alex said. "After all I've only been back for two weeks. I don't want to start missing things already. Then again… None of this would really been a problem in the first place if you would all just leave me alone…. So! Where am I off to now?" he asked, quickly switching from polite talk to enormously annoyed. "Are you sending me against my will to another continent for extensive periods of time? How about New York? I've always wanted to stay in New York for a time. See the sights, take in the busy life, you know. City that never sleeps and all that."

Blunt sighed and ran a hand through his graying hair. He seemed to be searching for the words to say. Alex gave him no time to do so.

"You guys can't do this to me anymore! It's just not fair! It's unjust! I want to stay in school! I don't want to leave. Things are just starting to go back to normal." And suddenly Alex's tone changed again. He wasn't fighting. He wasn't annoyed or upset. He was suddenly like a small child. The same way he was with his uncle; when he used to come home from school and share some good news, seeking his uncle's approval. "I got an A+ on my last English paper." He gladly told the two people. "And guess what else! In Global History today, I presented my oral report on the French Revolution. When I sat back in my seat, the teacher told me that I did a fantastic job, and that I should expect to be very pleased when I get my grade. And I made my school football team! I'm their left defense. By best mate Tom is our team captain. He's just great at football. Whenever he's goalie when we play in the park, the other team doesn't score one goal."

Mrs. Jones was genuinely excited for Alex. She'd always had a soft spot for him, so seeing him this happy excited her almost as much as him. "That's great Alex! I hope your team has a successful season. As for your grades, I couldn't be more pleased! After unfortunately having to miss some of your schooling, it's nice to see you're caught up well."

Alex beamed. Ian used to congratulate him the same way. Alex would never admit it, but he missed having someone say 'good job' about his school work. Sure, it was nice to know that you saved the world from certain destruction, but it was nothing compared to this. When your studies and practicing pay off, it comes with a certain sense of accomplishment.

"Yes Alex. That's very nice."

_Wow blunt, you sure have a way of murdering a good mood, _Alex thought. He only glared.

"Now hear the whole story before you protest," he pleaded. Alex glumly complied. "Now, whether you like it or not, you're going on this mission. You virtually have no choice."

"I want to stay in school!"

"Now boy! You sit there and listen!"

"I don't wan to have to g-"

"We're not taking you out of school!" Blunt finally yelled. That shut Alex up. He sat back down in the chair, though he didn't seem to remember standing up and listened, frightened, for Blunt to continue.

"Scorpia does not like you." Blunt said each word detached, and the statement deliberately slow. "They want to kill you Alex. These are not people that will take pity on you because you're a chld. They want you dead, and they will stop at nothing to have it done."

_Yes, thanks for pointing it out. I couldn't tell from that one time when...oh, what was it again? Oh yeah! I GOT SHOT!! _Alex thought.

"We think they're planning to do something to your school."

"Wh-what?" Alex paled. No! No no no!! This wasn't supposed to happen!! These were supposed to be two separate worlds!! School was for friends and sports and learning, and work was for… for… Well it wasn't supposed to mesh into school! It was one of Alex's last connections to the normal world. "To my school?"

"Yes." Blunt said impassively. Other than being calm in the beginning of their meeting, Blunt showed no signs of any sympathy. "And like we said, they will stop at absolutely nothing. You have a school of hundreds of children Alex. They could all get hurt. Every single one of them. For this mission, we are demanding you stay in the area, and as alert as possible. No vacations, no visiting friends out of town, nothing. There is more than you could even think of at stake here."

Alex didn't respond. He only stared ahead.

Blunt stayed silent for a moment.

Mrs. Jones looked apologetically at Alex.

"Mr. Smithers will be waiting for you. He'll surely have a few things that'll cheer you up. You are dismissed."

Alex didn't dignify that with a response. He simply walked out; homework in hand. The door closed.

--

"He shouldn't have to deal with this, Alan. School is his safe zone. He doesn't want to have to think about any of this when he's there. It's Alex's escape."

"I know. But it's not like we have a choice. It's either telling him to protect himself or he and hundreds of other children could be monumentally destroyed. I'm sorry that it came to this."

* * *

TA-DA!! And thats how i do! victory dance

Alright, so it's not exactly how I wanted it to turn out, but i do like how it ended up. Please, please, PLEASE review. Thank you very much for reading, and I hope you liked it!


	3. The Gadgets

Okay then, here we go! another chapter. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, expecially:

(climactic theme song)

**Jusmine!!**

Because her review was incredibly helpful. I think I fixed everything she pointed out, but if there are things that are still not right, feel free to let me know. Also, I realize Alex is kinda out of character. Some of you say very out of character. Either way, I'm working on that. I'm having a lot of trouble keeping them in character. This is only my second fanfiction, but I write a whooooolle lot of other things, too; and this is very different from things I would normally write.

In other words, I'm in experianced in this type of story, therefore, am having trouble making it work. But in relation to what I said before, I'm always open to help and suggestions.

**Disclaimer**: Must it be said?

* * *

Alex shuffled gloomily to the cluttered room where he usually met with Smithers, and sure enough found him with a screw driver, delicately tinkering with something Alex couldn't quite identify.

"Alex M'boy!" Smithers welcomed enthusiastically, the moment he'd noticed Alex in the doorway. "Oh! Come in, come in, come in!!" He hastily placed whatever gadget he was currently working on away, and smiled incessantly at Alex.

"Hello Smithers." Alex greeted glumly. Though as predicted, seeing Smithers _did_ make him feel better; if only minutely.

"Alex! What's the matter with you boy? You look positively miserable!" Smithers' rough, scruffy voice couldn't help but make Alex crack an unwilling smile. Smithers' happy mood was just too damn contagious.

"It's nothing. I'm positively peachy." Alex remarked sarcastically.

"Ah…" said Smithers, awkwardly catching on. "Well m'boy, at least you can come back this time."

Alex glanced at him quizzically, tilting his head.

"You've always been…" Smithers continued, "Well you've always been away. Far away, under cover. This time, you don't have to disguise your person, and you can always report back to us for anything you need. You should never be more than twenty minutes away. Say, you could even come back to me for some more gadgets if you need it, boy!"

Alex didn't know what to think, but whatever he came up with went something like: _I guess that _is_ a benefit .There are unlimited resources if I can come back here. Then again, it's not like I'm in any rush to skip happily back to headquarters…_

"I suppose we should get right to work though, shall we?" Smithers bent over his large stomach to reach for a place under his desk. When he came back up, he was holding a normal looking school backpack. "So, I've come up with a few gadgets for you that seemed suiting to have at school. Let's take a look see."

He unzipped the bag and pulled out a pair of black, plastic, square framed reading glasses. "These," explained Smithers, "Are reading glasses that will act as two different sight enhancers. Hit the button here," He pointed, "On the top of the right lens, and they turn into some of the best working binoculars you'll ever have looked through. On the top of the left lens here," He pointed again, "There's a button that will allow you to zoom in on smaller objects. The super magnification is great for examining anything you think might give you a lead." He finished off.

He reached into the bag again. "Next off, we have this chewing gum. It's got a special chemical in it that, when comes into contact with saliva, bursts. Chew it for about five seconds, and then stick it onto your desired target. It's fantastic for locks. Blows them right off. So you've got a whole pack of that here." He placed the blue package on the counter next to the glasses.

"Smithers," Alex said, pretending to be concerned, "I'm not allowed to chew gum in school."

"Yes, and your also not supposed to be a spy when you're fourteen, but that hasn't stopped you yet, now has it?"

"Unfortunately no. So what happens if I chew this stuff for more than five seconds?" Alex asked curiously.

"Say goodbye to a few of your molars then. Oh! And I forgot to mention, it tastes like winter mint. So you'll have a good five seconds of minty freshness."

"Well _that's_ a relief. I was worried that I might have garlic breath when I blow the lock off of a door. Now _that's_ what I call an emergency."

Smithers chuckled. "Good to see you haven't lost your sense of humor m'boy. Let's move on to this pen recorder." Smithers pulled out a ball point pen. "It writes like a normal black pen, but if you spin the finger grip twice, a recording mechanism activates. It should pick up anything in a hundred foot radius."

"Useful." Alex said sincerely.

"I quite thought so. We also have _this_ wonderful creation, if I do say so myself." Out of the bag, he pulled out five pale pink eraser caps. "Don't even think of trying to erase anything with these. It's a bit of a risk. Crack them in half and they'll release powerful knockout gas. It should put every person in the room to sleep if they breathe it in. Victims should stay unconscious for about eight to ten minutes, but of course it varies depending on the person. A grown man will wake before a little girl will, eh?"

"Alrighty then. Sleep inducing erasers, recording pen, exploding gum, binocular glasses. Anything else?"

"Of course! There's one more gadget I'm sending you off with m'boy; a messaging device!" Smithers reached into the bag one last time and pulled out a calculator. "This Ti84 works like a normal calculator, so you can use it in class, but it also has direct connection to us. Press 'alpha, M', then 'alpha, I' and then '6'. Hit enter, and you can send a message right to headquarters. It'll be on alpha lock, so you can just type in the message. You won't have to worry about hitting the 'alpha key for every letter. And, that's all I've got for you m'boy!" He put everything back in the pale green school bag. "You can keep the bag. There's nothing special about it, I just thought you might like it." He handed the whole package over to Alex over the counter.

"Thanks, Smithers." Alex said, putting his math notebook in the bag along with the gadgets. "I guess I'd better go then."

"Yes I suppose." Smithers said, watching Alex sling the bag over his shoulders and walk out the heavy metallic door. "And good luck to you Alex, m'boy!"

The door shut with a nice 'clanking' sound, and Alex was gone.

* * *

(curtain closes) chapter three es finito.

I don't really know what to think of this chapter... It was weird to write. So far I feel like the first chapter was the best written. It flowed easier and had better detail; and seemed more interesting to read.

And so, I bid thee farewell, until we meet again. Please review. Please help me make this better. Ideas and corrections are fantastically appreciated. So thanks again, bye!


	4. What to do, what to do

Okay! Two chapters in one day! That's what happens when you have a day off from school and absolutely nothing to do. I don't really think i have anything else to say. this was more of a filler chapter then any real plot chapter, but i hope it came out well. I liked it...

Sooooo...DISCLAIMER TIME!!

**Disclaimer:** Well, basically, I'm Anthony Horowitz, so I do in fact own Alex Rider. (psst. In case you didn't get that, it was sarcasm wink wink)

* * *

Alex plodded down the marble stairs of the bank toward his bike. He felt the weight of the gadgets bouncing against his back. It had gotten a bit darker since Alex had last been outside. The sun was just beginning to set below the buildings and houses, and the air felt cooler against his skin. Alex looked around the city streets, now bereft of its people; all hustle and bustle put to a halt for the day. A sudden wind blew the red and brown leaves across Alex's path, a shiver ran up his back as he could smell the tell-tale scent of fall.

Just as Alex was about to flip up his kickstand, his mobile began to sing its recognizable song. He reached into his pocket, pulled it out, and flipped it open.

"Hello?"

"Alex!"

"Hey Tom." Alex smiled

"I was wondering if you wanted to come play football with me in the park. It's usually empty by now. Everyone's in eating dinner"

"Actually Tom," Alex muttered hesitantly, "I'm just about to leave work." He knew Tom would understand what he meant by 'work'.

"Really?" Tom asked, surprised, "For what? You never go there unless it's right before or right after one of your… jobs." He picked his words carefully. "But… wait; it's not either right now, is it? If it was right after, then you'd have been missing for the past few weeks, but if it was before then I wouldn't be talking to you. They'd have already sent you off to some distant, unheard of, remote little island; the bastards."

"Ummm…" Alex decided on how much to tell.

_I suppose I could just tell him everything. After all, it involves him this time… sort of._ He was just looking for excuses to tell Tom, and he knew it. _And if he knows, then he could help me report anything suspicious… Umm... and… He could… He could… I can't think of anything else… Oh well._

"Alex?! Hey! Earth to Alex!" Tom's voice over the phone broke Alex from his muse. "Come on, mate, come back to reality, we miss you here."

"Oh, I missed you too, Tom. Kisses!" Alex retorted sarcastically.

"Funny, mate, funny. So what's the deal? You up for some football? Or are you on a jet plane headed for the Falkland Islands?"

"Ha ha. I'll tell you all about it after we kick the ball around. I'll meet you at the park in a bit. I've got to get home and check in with Jack first. And probably eat something, so say an hour?"

"Sounds good mate." Tom said happily. "See you in an hour!"

"Yeah, see you. Bye Tom." And Alex folded his phone shut, jamming it back into the confines of his pocket. He flipped his foot up; pushing the kickstand of his bike off the ground, and hopped onto the bike seat.

"Here we go again…" he mumbled to himself. And so he pushed his bicycle pedals forward and rode home against the wind.

--

"Jack?" Alex called, closing the front door behind him. "Jack, I'm home."

"Is that you Alex?" Jack called back from somewhere deeper in the house.

"Probably." Alex remarked sarcastically, walking into the kitchen to find his guardian washing dishes.

"Ha ha. Where'd you go anyway?"Jack asked, turning of the sink, and picking up a towel. She dried her hands and there it back onto the counter, leaning against the island in the center of the room.

"Ummm…" Alex hesitated. "I was… I was at work."

"Oh God." Jack sighed. She collapsed into the stool to her left and dropped her head into her hands. "What is it this time?" she looked up at him expectantly. "Where are they sending you now Alex?"

"About that… They're not really sending me anywhere. I'm ordered to stay here. The thing is- now don't freak out Jack-"

"Alex I've heard enough of the things you do to not freak out anymore, so spill."

"They think Scorpia's going to attack my school." No beating around the bush with _this_ boy.

"They think _WHAT?!" _Jack jumped out of her chair and slammed the table.

"You said you wouldn't freak!"

"Alex! They're going to attack your school!!"

"Good call Jack. Thanks for letting me know."

"Oh, don't you get smart with me now."

"Just calm down, Jack. Everything will be fine. I promise." Alex reassured sincerely.

"You don't know that. Something could go terribly horribly wrong. What have they got, anyway? Are they sending people in? Like, maybe send a bunch of guys in as teachers or something. Are they closing the school down until this is all blown over?"

"No. And no, and no. They're just sending me. I've got some gadgets and something to call for backup if I need it."

"Are they serious?! Do you really think this is a good idea Alex?" Jack glared.

"To be honest, I'm not sure _what_ to think. For one thing, I almost could have seen this coming. I knew they'd try something, I just didn't know what it was. I certainly didn't think they'd do anything to my _school._ But on the other hand, I don't really have to do anything crazy this time… Depending on how you want to use the word crazy that is. But what I mean by that is that I don't have to go undercover this time. I get to stay me, Alex, and I get to keep going to school and all. I don't have to put my life on halt for this is what I'm saying I guess."

"Well if that's how you feel about it, then…" Jack sighed again and rolled her eyes. "I don't know. Alex, I just don't know."

"Don't worry Jack. Just keep living like we normally would. You don't even have to think about it." Alex stated. He said it half because it was actually what they needed to do and half to calm down Jack. He wasn't sure what he dreaded more: Having Jack worry while he went away on mission, or dragging her in to one. They both seemed about even right then.

"Okay… Okay Alex. I'm going to go and let this sink in for a while. Maybe take a bath. You okay to get dinner for yourself?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. If I'm not here when you come back downstairs, I'm still at the park with Tom. We're going to play some football for a while. I'll have my mobile." He assured, opening the fridge to see what he had to work with.

"Okay. Have fun I guess. I'll see you later tonight. Be careful" She smiled warily and started towards the stairs.

"Okay Jack!" Alex called back to her across the house. "I will be!" He closed the refrigerator door, various vegetables taking the space in his hands.

"As if I'd be careless when I was out a night with my defenseless friend while a terrorist organization was out to kill me." He mumbled to no one in particular jokingly. Alex threw the contents of his arms onto the island in the middle of the kitchen, and began chopping them up to begin his chicken stir fry over brown rice.

* * *

So you want to know why Alex's dinner plans were pretty specific? Cause I'm hungry, that's why. And chicken stir fry over brown rice and steamed vegetables sounds delish right about now... Even though I'm a vegetarian. That's how hungry I am.

I believe Tom's going to be a big part of this story. He'll be with Alex a lot. Thoughts on that? Anyone? Reviewing is the perfect way to let me know!

Seriously. There were like six hundred something hits and thirteen reviews or something. I work off of reviews. They fuel me to keep going. Those and brownies... I work off of brownies too... Point is: I promise I will never ever become one of those people that abandons a story right in the middle of it; but I also will write better, sooner, and more enthusiastically ifi know people like what i'm writing. Or if they don't like what I'm writing. Just so long as i'm getting some thoughts.

My god, I am the worlds worst rambler. Sooo. Please review. And I'm sorry by the way if this whole thing under the line sounds really bratty, but I'm getting cranky cause I'm hungry.

Thanks to all readers, now I've gotta go!

P.S.- If anyone can come up with a better chapter title, that'd be cool.


	5. A Night in the Park

Alright little duckies!! I wrote another chapter. I in fact, have been trying to make them longer. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be working. It's just, i always reach this certain spot where it HAS to be the end of the chapter. Like you can tell just by reading it that it SHOULD be the end of the chapter; even if it IS short... Or at least I think so...

So about Tom... I'm not planning on making him a side kicky person, but he will be useful. I'm not giving any more of it away.

And About the chapter title of the last chapter. I got one suggestion, but i'm still going to wait for more until I change it.

**Disclaimer:** It's stiiilllllll a myysterrryyyyyyyy...

* * *

Stomach full and content, Alex was well on his way to the park to meet Tom. The street lights were on now, and the sun had completely left the city alone for the night. Alex peddled his bike through one spot of artificial light at a time; leaving one and hitting another. Upon thinking about it when he left his house, he realized that being out at night in a deserted place like the park was probably not a good idea. A horrible idea in fact… That's why Alex had stuck an eraser cap in his pocket before he left. But to be honest, he wasn't expecting any trouble tonight. It just wouldn't be grandiose enough for Scorpia. Too easy.

Alex screeched his wheels to a stop as soon as he was through the gate. A ball whizzed toward him and hit him in the elbow before he had time to react.

"Gonna have to have better reflexes than that, mate!" Tom jogged toward him and stopped the ball from rolling away.

"Or, you could, you know, not kick things at me," Alex mocked, getting off his bike.

Tom flipped the ball off the ground and hit it against his chest, and continued on to juggle it on his knees. "That would spoil all the fun, now wouldn't it?"

"Well, I suppose it would if no one was kicking it back at you." Alex spun around in a combination karate/football kick and stole the ball away from Tom, kicking it at _his_ elbow.

"….Ow." Tom said, very monotone, picking up the ball. "Come on!" he began a steady jog toward the grassy field a little beyond where they were standing.

Alex followed.

--

They played football on the field until neither of the boys had any breath left. That may have been because they had both been hit in the chest with the ball a few times, but either way…

They lay on the grass shirtless and sweaty; even in the chill of the fall air.

"So mate, what were you doing at 'work'? You quit or something?" Tom panted.

"As if I could," Alex complained.

"So you mean _they_ brought you there? What for? I want to hear the juicy details"

Alex rolled his eyes. That was the problem with Tom. He thought Alex's 'job' was glamorous, when in reality it was anything but.

"I'm on a mission." Alex said flat out. If he was going to tell Tom, that's all he would do. Just tell him. No sugar coating it, and no beating around the bush.

"Seriously, mate? You off to Guam tomorrow? Bring me back something nice, will you?"

"Be serious Tom. I'm not going anywhere."

"But you just said you were going on a mi-"

"I _am_ on a mission! Just wait for me to get a sentence in, will you?"

"Sorry. Go on." Tom shifted and looked up at the sky with a concerned look on his face.

"You remember when I told you about Scorpia?" Alex asked.

"Yeah." Tom answered quickly. As if he'd forget _that_ story.

"Well they're trying to kill me."

"Okay…" Tom replied, confused. "But you already knew that, right? I mean, you didn't actually think that they'd just let you go unscathed after everything you did to piss them off, right mate?"

"Exactly. But I didn't think they'd try to off me like _this._ Tom, MI6 thinks that Scopria is going for the school."

"WHAT?!" Tom bolted straight up off the ground onto his feet.

"You know, it's funny," Alex said, bored, "Jack had the exact same reaction when I told her."

"Well I imagine even you're not too dense to recognize why!" Tom plopped back down and sat Indian-style facing Alex. "Shit, Alex! I mean, really! Shit! What are you going to do?"

"Probably nothing. I think I'll just let them do whatever they want." Alex retorted.

"Are you serious?!" Tom shouted.

"Of course not, you dork," Alex slapped Tom for being stupid. "I'm going to try to stop them."

"Oh…" Tom mumbled.

"They gave me a bunch of fun toys. I've got these reading glasses that are like… binoculars and a magnifying glass, a pen that's a super-high-tech tape recorder, a message sending calculator, and exploding gum."

"Exploding gum?"

Alex nodded. "It tastes like winter mint." He said, as if it were very important to it's use, "Oh, and they also gave me these erasers." He pulled one out of his pocket.

"Oh, joy. It's good to know that when a big burly guy with a machine gun is chasing you, you can always toss a little pink piece of rubber at him." Tom mimed as if he were throwing an eraser with expert aim.

"Well I suppose if you hit him in the eye it might work." Alex considered, finally sitting up.

"I was actually thinking of a spot a little bit lower. A little bit lower and between his legs." Tom chuckled. He was pointing to a spot in the distance where he pictured a large man cringing in pain and holding his… achem... manly bits.

"I guess either one would work. But these particular erasers are little gas chamber… things. If I crack it in half, it lets out knockout gas."

"Cool! Can we try it?" Tom snagged the eraser from Alex, harsh enough to take it from him, but gentle enough not to break it.

"No." Alex let Tom examine the eraser a few seconds longer before he took it back and returned it to its cozy pocket home.

"So that's all the plan is? Send Alex in with some decked out school supplies? No extra security at the school, no people on alert, not even any backup?"

"I have the calculator for that. I can call up for people. I don't think I'll be using that one much though."

"Why not? What if you're way outnumbered? Wouldn't it be nice to call for backup?"

"Well I would, if I thought they'd actually, you know, show up."

Tom raised an eyebrow.

"They don't have the best record of answering distress calls. They seem to think I'm not _really_ in trouble, or that I'm just _kidding _about being a moment away from being murdered."

"Bastards." Tom huffed.

"Yeah. So that's basically the deal. I've got to be undercover by not being undercover, keep going to school as if nothing's happening, and try to single handedly defeat Scorpia." Alex said momontoned.

"……………………………………..Wow."

'Mhmm…………..So what's new with you?" Alex asked casually.

"I think I'm going to ask out that girl Madison." Tom said, continuing their conversation like it was none out of the ordinary.

Alex looked at him skeptically. "The one with the locker four down from yours?"

"That's exactly the one." Tom smiled.

"Nice." Alex commented with a smirk on his face. "You know I'd been _thinking_ she might fancy you."

Tom put his hands behind his head. "And why shouldn't she?" he bragged.

Alex pushed him over.

Tom pushed him back.

Alex threw the ball at Tom.

Tom threw it back.

Alex head butted the ball toward Tom.

Tom kicked it back.

And from there another football session started, the boys only barely having caught their breath from the last one.

--

Alex collapsed into his bed, showered and completely exhausted. After he and Tom had played football for another two hours or so, they decided that they'd better get back home. After all, it still was a school night. Jack had welcomed him home, though they hadn't talked much, as Alex was tired and ready for sleep. They had simply said hello, Jack asked if he had fun, to which, of course, he answered yes, and then they said goodnight.

Alex sighed and began to drift off to sleep. It was a big day.

….But it was _nothing_ compared to what _tomorrow_ would be…

* * *

Dun Dun Dunnnn!! What will happen next? What makes tomorrow such a big day? Did Alex beat Tom in Football? What time is it in Japan right now? Why would you know?

So I just think I'm going to let everyone know how difficult it was to write this chapter. Not because of the plot or anything, but because here in America, we say soccer. So it was beyond difficult to remember to say football and not soccer. Mind boggling 0o

I hope you liked it! I did my best!

Review, and I shall gaveth thee virtual pastries!!


	6. Another Day at School

Hello there! I'm sorry this took a little longer to update than other chapters, but I have been disgustingly busy ((marchingband, dance, school play, etc...))

Also... Um... it seems that the index finger of my dominant hand is in a splint, making it very difficult to type...

Now, this chapter was difficult because I'm not good at action scenes. But I did the best I could, and some of you will be happy to know that this is almost four times longer than other chapters.

Slang. Lets move on to that. Please pardon my being American. It would be so much easier to write this if I were British. So if there are things that are like, totally American/Islander, I don't think I'm going to fix it. You can point it out so I'll know for later use, because I totally will use and appreciate constructive criticism, but it's like… I don't know. It's hard to explain. So for all you people out there who are in fact British, (or American mainlanders),and are going "What the hell?!" just remember that I'm from the other side of the world, on a little island where we have slang and speech style all our own….

Disclaimer: ... Don't make me say it, it only makes me depressed :

* * *

Alex woke with a start when his alarm clock buzzed. Becoming fully alert at the first bit of a sudden noise came along with the spy thing. He hit the off button and got out of bed, bare feet gently and quietly put to the floor. Alex rubbed his eyes and shuffled to the bathroom. He went through his normal morning routine, and finally met Jack down in the kitchen where she had set out a big blue plastic bowl, some milk, and a box of cereal.

"I don't know, Alex" Jack pointed, "Are you sure it's a good idea to go to school?"

"Well," Alex said through a mouth full of cornflakes, "Do you think it would be better if I _didn't_ go to school, and left it vulnerable to attack?"

"If you aren't there, then maybe they'll just let the whole thing go. You know; 'oh, he's not here, let's go try somewhere else.' And then they'd be on their way."

Alex rolled his eyes. "Yeah, you're right, Jack. That's exactly what'll happen. And I bet _then_ the professional _assassins_ will go back to their boss and say 'Oh. Well he wasn't there… Soooooo… we left and let everyone go free.'"

"Okay fine Mr. Spy guy! But if you come back dead, don't come crying to me!" Jack huffed.

Alex internally cringed. Though he knew turning her worries into jokes was Jack's way of coping, there was still sting in her words. After all, that was the whole point of this ordeal, right? To kill Alex Rider. It echoed in his head…

_Kill Alex Rider…_

_Kill Alex Rider…_

_Kill Alex Rider…_

A chill ran up his spine. Thankfully, Jack didn't see it, and Alex continued on, impassive to Jack's eye.

"Alex, I want you to be so careful, that if a pin drops in a silence, you'd better have a gun pointed at it before it even stops moving."

"Er… I can't really _do_ that Jack…" Alex said slowly; deliberately, pointing his cereal spoon at her. It took some effort to stay calm on Alex's part. Sure, he'd faced down the eyes of death before, but that wasn't the big picture. There had always been a larger goal. This time… The entirety of the mission was goaled on having him totally and absolutely abolished.

"You know what I mean!"Jack erupted.

"Yes, I know. Don't worry Jack. I'll be fine." Alex tried to calm her nerves. If he were to be honest, her panic sure wasn't doing _him_ any good either.

There was a pause. Alex hopped off the stool he was sitting on and went to retrieve his school bag.

"I'm just going to trust you." Jack shrugged, scrutinizing something to the side of the kitchen. Alex walked back in and could tell she was only looking for a way to avoid his eyes. "You haven't been wrong about that yet, so I suppose I'll just have to take your word for it this time, too… You'll be fine."

"I really will be." Alex reassured. He placed down the bag of school books and supplies and emptied it into neat piles on the floor, in front of where he sat. He reached over to his left and pulled over the bag from Smithers and began to stuff it the same way the discarded bag had been. If he had a new bag, he might as well use it, mightn't he?

"Okay… Go on kiddo, or you'll be late." Jack nodded him off to the door. Alex checked his supply of Smithers-designed 'gifts' once more before leaving. When he was positive he had everything, Alex walked out the door to school.

"I'll see you after school!" Jack mustered.

"You too!" Alex yelled back through a half closed door, and then muttered to himself "Hopefully…"

--

Walking through the halls on his way to his third class, Alex had so far had an incredibly normal, if not uncannily boring, uneventful day. He took a chemistry test first class, on which, to his delight, he seemed to know every answer. He finished early, even with taking the test while being on full alert, and the rest of the hour seemed to pass just as it would any other day. Second class, Spanish, was almost deathly boring. He had seriously considered passing out, just for the entertainment value. As a fluent Spanish speaker, Alex had always thought it redundant, if not a tad ironic, that it was required of him to take the course.

"Alex! Hey Alex!" Tom panted, jogging up to Alex's side, finally catching up to him. "Did you do the maths homework?" He asked.

"Yeah." Alex mumbled. His eyes were catching every movement in slow motion. His ears were hearing every individual conversation of the hallway…

"_Jonny said that he thought…"_

"…_Wondering if you were free on…"_

"…_Think I failed that test…"_

"_Stop running in the halls!"_

"_Alex, are you…"_

"…_Extra help in physics…"_

"_ALEX! Are you-"_

-Oh wait. Those two were directed at him.

"Sorry, Tom." Alex shook his head clear. Though he knew he needed to stay alert, Alex knew that if he was too tense, it would be too easy to miss something, slip up, or make a fatal mistake. "What were you saying?"

"I _said_, are you okay?" Tom rounded the corner toward their maths class. "You seem spaced."

"Yeah. I'm just…'working'…" Alex said awkwardly, shifting his books in his arm. It felt uncomfortable to be putting the two worlds together. 'Work' and 'school' were not supposed to mix.

"Oh…" Tom said. "Well, I was actually wondering if you did the homework? I had some trouble with the trig." Tom subtly waved at someone further down the hall as he spoke.

"You ask her out yet?" Alex asked wryly.

"What?!" Tom jumped at the question.

"Madison," Alex nodded toward the small girl Tom had waved to. Alex admit it to himself, she _was_ very pretty. Loosely curled soft, light brown hair, shockingly blue eyes, a beautiful smile… Nice body too…

Alex promptly got _that_ thought out of his head. "Have you asked her out yet?"

"No!" Tom tried to defend himself.

"You chickened out, didn't you." Alex slyly accused.

"I did not! I was just waiting for the right moment is all." Tom turned his face away; cheeks already six different shades of red.

"Yeah, uh-huh. Sure you were." Alex pointed.

"Just-" Tom threw his hands into the air, knowing he was defeated, "…Just give me the trig…" He took Alex's paper, which he had handed over with a victorious smile in his face, and sulked into class. Alex triumphantly followed.

--

Half way through a maths class of thetas, square roots, fractions and confusion, Alex was almost convinced that today would be like any other day.

_Almost_.

But 'almost' doesn't cut it.

'_Hey, Alex, Is it just me or is none of this making any sense?'_

Alex read the words on a note passed from Tom.

'_Just you. I'm getting most of it. I'll help you with it later if you want.' _He scrawled back.

'_Yeah, that'd be great. Thanks mate.' _

'_Tom, you see that janitor outside the door?'_

Tom's eyes snapped to the side. Out of the small window on the classroom door he could see a man mopping the floor. _Okay Alex, _Tom thought,_ a janitor… I see him…. I don't understand your sudden fascination with janitors, but… I'll play along._

'_Yeah, I see him.'_

'_Is he new?'_

'_Nah, he's just a temp for Jose.'_

'_What happened to Jose?'_

'_I'm not sure. Some kind of odd, on-the-job accident.'_

'_What?!'_

'_Yeah; vending machine fell on top of him or something.'_

'_Shit.'_

'_What's the big deal?'_

'_I'm not writing it down!'_

'_You and Jose having a secret love affair or something?'_

'_Ew! No! Be serious Tom! Jeez… I'll tell you later. Now pay attention if you're having so much trouble understanding what's going on.'_

Tom read the note and glared at Alex. Pay attention. Ha! Like _that'll_ ever happen. None the less, he did it anyway; taking the appropriate notes… and making doodles all over the margins of his paper, but for the most part, he paid attention.

_BRRRRRRRRIIIINNNGGGGG!!_

The bell rang, ending the class and freeing students of torture-I mean-maths. Freeing the students of _maths._

Alex leaned against the wall next to the door wand waited for Tom to get there.

"What's the matter mate? What's the big deal?'

"Come on." Alex hustled him out the door. He walked fast, just barely breaking into a jog. His face held a determined look; eyebrows furrowed, lips pressed together in a tight line. His eyes sent a flaming glare down the halls of the school.

"Alex, where are we going?" Tom asked, off thrown. He'd never seen Alex slip into spy-mode before. He would shamelessly admit; it was a bit frightening.

He struggled to keep up. Alex led him down a few hallways, swerving in and out of the clusters of people and rounding corners. Suddenly there was a strong tug on Toms elbow, and he was pulled into a supply closet!

"Aghh!! Help! Alex, H-" A hand clamped over his mouth.

"Shut up, Tom!"

"Oh, Alex! It's you!" Tom sighed. "For a second there I thought I was in serious trouble!"

"If you don't keep it down you will be." Alex warned. "So hush up."

Tom nodded. He had almost no idea what was going on. He was confused beyond the way he was in his last class. He didn't even know where in the school they were. He hadn't gotten a chance to keep track of which hallways they had gone down, and all he knew now was that he was in one of three supply closets on the second floor.

"Okay, I'm good. Why in bloody hell did you drag me all over the school, and pull me into a bloody supply closet?!" Tom whispered furiously.

"Tom! Just be quiet and let me think for two seconds!" Alex demanded. He wasn't really sure why he took Tom with him, but it was too late now.

"All right. Listen up." Alex began, "If Jose had a crazy on-the-job accident the same week that I was told Scorpia was going to Attack the school, I'd bet anything it's not a coincidence."

"What, are you saying that vending machine was meant for you?" Tom asked curiously.

Alex shook his head in disbelief. "Of course not!" It was easy to forget how innocent this business looked from the outside. To Tom, yes, making a vending machine fall on top of Alex seemed like something cruel and wicked and despicable enough for Scorpia to pull off. To Alex, the vending machine was about as vicious as a person taking their index finger and flicking his ear with it. He was waiting for something much more grandiose.

"I saw Jose yesterday morning." Alex continued, "That means that the 'accident' must have happened sometime after that. There's no way in the world that the school would have been able to officially and legally put Jose on leave, and get a replacement in only one day. Not naturally at least. There has to have been some kind of intervention. Hence, Scorpia. Besides, if that vending machine was meant for me, it would have hit me. There are no mistakes, big or small, with this organization. They wanted to get Jose, and they got Jose. They've sent in one of their men as a replacement, and that man is from Scorpia."

"That janitor is the guy that's going to kill you?!" Tom erupted.

Alex smacked his friends arm for screaming, and held a finger to his own lips to tell Tom to be quiet. "No, you dolt! Are you mad? If I'm right about this guy working for them, there's no way he's anything more than surveillance. Scorpia won't try anything unless there are no wrinkles, no kinks, and no flaws in their plan. This janitor has to tell them everything that happens in this school , right down to what teachers broke a piece of chalk today. Still with me?"

"I…I think so."

"Good. So what we… or… me… or I need to do now, is throw him off. Maybe feed him some kind of false information. You," Alex swung his backpack off his shoulder and opened on of the pockets, "You need to take this pen," He handed it to Tom, "And when I find the janitor, just stand by, and turn the finger grip twice. It'll record everything that we say, and anything anyone else says nearby. Okay?"

Tom nodded, examining the pen in his hands. Too much for one day. Way too much.

"Okay. Good. I'm going to open the door and we're both going to walk out and find this janitor. Casual. Don't look suspicious. We're just walking to our next class. Right? We're not up to anything, right Tom?" Alex instructed.

"R-Right." Tom nodded, baffled. Oh yeah. Waaayyy too much.

"Alright, Ready?" Alex placed a hand on the door knob. "One…" His grip tightened. "Two…" He turned the knob. "Three!" The door swung open…

Only Alex hadn't opened it.

"Hello children. What might you be doing in my closet?"

Alex gulped. There was a gun pointed directly at his face. He looked past its barrel and saw a man with greasy black hair slicked back from his snarling face. His eyes were two different colors, the left green, and the right blue. He was holding the gun in his left hand, so Alex assumed it was his dominant. His right hand seemed somehow distorted. Maybe burnt. He looked muscular, but nothing too much of a threat. Alex, of course, knew otherwise. This man knew at least one hundred different ways to kill a person with nothing but his bare hands. He spoke with a French accent and wore the tell tale blue janitors uniform.

Tom stood frozen. He tried to yell, not knowing better, but couldn't manage it anyway. So he stood in the corner of the closet next to a map, shaking to the bone. He couldn't understand how Alex hadn't even flinched. He only met the man square in the eyes, totally unmoved.

"We were just looking for a broom. What might you be doing pointing a gun at my face?" Alex said coolly. His heart pounded. He tried his best to stay calm, but he couldn't stop his toe from twitching in his shoe. Luckily, no one could see it. The barrel of the gun

"Ah, the infamous Alex Rider." The French man said. His scowl turned into a smirk. "I was warned that you had wonderfully funny sense of humor." He twisted the word 'funny' to make it sound like an evil word. "Anything else I should know about?"

"I have been told I have the face of a model," Alex turned his face a little to the side, as if posing, but never took his eyes off the man, "And you should hear me when I sing karaoke. I can really wale on some riffs."

"Such a quick mouth! The man snarled, "I suppose that will be the first part of your face that I will blast off."

The gun clicked. The mans finger began to move.

"All right, hold up a moment!" Alex protested. It worked; the man seemed to hesitate. Alex's mind was scrambling. These situations were usually easier to handle. At least a _little_ bit. It was school. Alex just knew it. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't be a spy in school as easily as he could anywhere else. He was a normal teenager here. He took a breath.

"You know you can't shoot me." Alex tried persuading. "I know just as much as you do that you're only here for surveillance. You're not the one that's supposed to take me out. Do you really think you'll get away with not following orders?"

"Ha! I will not only get away; I will be praised the way I deserve to be! Me, Claude Emanual, single handedly defeated Alex Rider. So goodbye small child."

The gun banged, and the bullet flew! Straight toward where Alex's face… _used_ to be. By now he was already twisted to the side, working strictly off of impulse. He allowed his instincts to take over, like an animal would. The Claude turned the gun toward Alex, but Alex was too fast. He pushed off the wall and jabbed his arm into the man's side. While he cringed away, Alex yanked the gun out of the mans hand and the continued to hit him in the face with it before he had time to react.

The man stumbled back into the hallway, now long deserted as everyone had gone to class, and had time to retaliate. He picked a broom up off the floor that he must have set before he opened the door to Alex. He broke the bristled end off, leaving a jagged splintered and incredibly pointed end. He expertly swung it around and then pointed it at Alex, about to make a charge for him. Alex reacted too soon. He ran back into the closet and pushed Tom out of the way, grabbing the mop that was behind him. Tom collapsed onto the floor, still staring, dumbfounded at the scene in front of him. He would have stood up if he could find his legs….

Alex broke the mop the same way the man had to the broom, at the same time as he dodged a jab from the French man's wooden weapon. When Alex made it out into the hallway, the real right started. Jabs and swings, stabs and thrashes, the two fought relentlessly. Alex had managed to get in a few good hits, one to the side of Claude's head, one to his arm, and one good stab to his foot. Claude, on the other hand, seemed to be having more luck. Alex's head was throbbing from getting hit in the eye with the Claude's elbow, and he was pretty sure his thumb was broken from when he deflected a hit from the broom stick. The saline taste of sweat and blood filled his mouth, and he was just about down. They must have been fighting for thirty minutes to no avail.

Alex swung the mop stick for the mans head, but he moved, and Alex ducked to swing for the mans legs, but he jumped. Finally, Alex threw the stick away and resorted to his basic karate training. Punches and kicks; round houses to the face, and flips out of the path of lethal moves. Claude, too, discarded his stick, and continued to beat Alex. He punched Alex in the stomachs, and Alex could no longer stand to fight. Claude spun around and kicked Alex in the head, and Alex stumbled backwards, and put his hands to his knees. He coughed blood out of his mouth, which tremendously hurt his throbbing head, and began to feel faint. He saw Claude stand upright from his fighting stance, and laugh maniacally. Claude slowly walked over to where Alex was just barely standing. He added one final punch to Alex's face, and the boy fell to the floor.

Claude dug his heel into Alex's stomach. Alex coughed up more blood. There was a ringing in his ears and his body felt numb. The boot pushed further, the sharp heal putting more and more pressure on his body.

"Please! Stop!" Alex pleaded, pushing weakly against the man's foot.

"Ha!" Claude laughed. "I'm going to kill you right here and now. So long Alex Rider." He pushed harder with each of the last four words.

"Agh!" Alex yelped, barely breathing! "Stop!" He started to cry. "Please…" his eyes closed and he lay still.

The man loosened his pressing foot, and looked over at Alex's face. Feeling confident and triumphant he lifted his foot and placed it back on the ground. He turned his attention to Tom. "Now, child, it's time that y-"

His feet were swept out from under him! Alex opened his eyes and thrashed an arm outward to the back of Claude's knees so he fell to the ground. Alex flipped Claude over so he was facing the ceiling and punched his in the groin, the stomach and then the face. He swung around and grabbed a bucket from the closet, and then swung back to Claude and knelt on top of him so he could not get up. Alex used the bottom of the bucket to hit him three, four, five times in the face. The bottom of the bucket dripped dark crimson.

Alex finally started to slow down when he was positive the man was knocked out. He slowly put the bucket down, and even slower, stood up. He looked down at himself. His pants were ripped on both knees from falling multiple times, and his shirt was torn from the jagged ends of the sticks. The cuts in his clothing went deeper into his skin. The fight left his previously white shirt a dark shade of ruby, and the smell was beginning to make Alex sick. He lifted his shirt off and threw it into the corner, then hiked up his pants.

"Tom, get me that rope." Alex instructed, panting and spitting blood out of his mouth.

Tom didn't respond.

"Tom?" Alex put a foot onto the man before he looked away, and then turned to his friend. "Are you okay, mate?" he asked

Tom nodded.

"Can you hand me that rope?" Alex coughed.

Tom nodded and stumbled to the other side of the closet to get the rope. He walked it warily out to Alex and handed it to him from arms length. He watched as Alex quickly, and tightly, tied the man up. Alex punched the man in the face one more time –for good measure- and dragged him out of the emergency exit. He pulled the man along the back of the school, checking to see if there were people around first, and left him in an abandon corner, empty of everything but dried leaves, and threw some garbage from the nearby dumpster onto the man. When he was efficiently covered by scraps of cardboard and paper, Alex wiped his brow and jogged back inside.

He moved passed Tom without looking at him and reached for his backpack. He pulled of the calculator and sent a message to MI6.

'_Knocked out a man from Scorpia._

_Tried to kill me and my friend._

_Hidden behind dumpster behind school._

_You need to take him_.'

The message said. He didn't have time to write out full sentences, never mind a whole explanation. He could take care of that later. He tossed the calculator back into his bag and leaned against the chipped paint in the back of the closet. Adrenalin rush finally starting to wear off, Alex slid down the wall and sat firmly on the ground. He closed his eyes and dropped his head back, breathing heavy, arms resting on his bent knees.

Tom cautiously walked back toward the closet, but hesitated, turning back around. He picked up Alex's bloody shirt with the tips of his fingers and held it away from himself. He walked it over to the plastic trash bin and threw it away, then continued on toward his friend. He stood above Alex for a moment in silence, then sat down facing him, waiting for Alex to come around on his own time.

Finally, Alex's breathing slowed. He opened his eyes and looked up at Tom. Neither boy said anything. They only looked at each other solemnly.

Then, Alex let out a nervous laugh. "Sorry, Tom." He apologized.

Tom paused, and then raised an eyebrow. "Sorry?! For what?!" he laughed nervously as well.

"Not entirely sure." Alex said, standing up, wincing when he put wait on his arm, "But I definitely need to apologize for something."

"I thought he'd killed you!" Tom said angrily, careful not to speak too loud.

Alex looked at him slyly. "As if."

"But you stopped breathing! And you cried, and stopped moving!"

"Faked it."

"You fake _cried?!"_

"Yeah. That wouldn't be the first time that trick has worked." Alex mused, walking out of the closet.

"What trick?" Tom asked, following Alex. "What trick works?"

"The kid-card. You play the helpless kid card and act oh-so weak, and sad, and defenseless, and the bad guy gets too cocky and full of himself, thinking 'I'm so bad, I just beat down this helpless kid!' and then you're always perfectly set for a sneak attack of sorts. I can't even tell you how many times I've gotten away because of underestimation."

"Okay, so…" Tom looked at the floor, trying to piece it together, "Wait, what?"

Alex sighed. "I'm just a kid, Tom. It's easy for an adult to think that they've beaten a kid, so I help them to do so. Then, when they think they have it made, I go in for another attack when they don't see it coming. Like I said, sneak attack of sorts."

"Gotcha." Tom nodded. "So… Now what?"

"Now," Alex's mind began to whir, planning out what to do. "Now we need to clean this up." Alex motioned to the floor in front of them. It was covered in splatterings and puddles of blood. "Can you get me the mop?" Alex asked.

Tom eyed Alex to his right, not moving his head to look at him. "You _broke _the mop, Alex."

"Oh… right. Well… Can you get me the mop half of the mop? I think I saw some tape over by the sink…" Both boys went into the closet and reemerged with tape and a broken mop. Alex walked across the messy hall and picked up the other half of the stick. When it was sturdily taped together, Alex mopped up the blood in the hallway, while Tom fixed the broken Broom, and put the janitors closet back in order. When they finished, they met back in the hallway, sitting against a cool wall.

"Anything else I'm forgetting?" Alex asked Tom.

"Well other than your lack of shirt and looking like you just got into a fight with a lawn mower, everything seems fine." Tom assured.

Alex chuckled. That would be a good excuse. Fight with a lawn mower. He'd have to remember that.

"You've got a black eye, you know." Tom told Alex with a concerned look on his face.

"Not a problem." Alex said, "But my thumb might be. It got hit back there with the broom stick. I think it's broken." He held up his hand for Tom to see. By now, Alex's thumb was various shades of purple brown and blue. It was swollen three times its normal size.

"You _think_ it's broken?! Alex, it looks like someone took a sledge hammer to it! Of course it's broken. And you kept fighting with that?" Tom was in shock. But Alex had fought with worse. Much worse.

"Obviously." Alex nodded.

The boys sat in silence for a moment.

"What do we do now?" Tom asked.

"I don't know about you," Alex said, rising from the floor and dusting off his hands, "But I'm going home. You're welcome to join me of course."

Tom nodded. "Sounds good. We've already missed one class anyway. What's a few more?"

Alex laughed. "Easy for you to say. I cant believe they haven't kicked me out yet, with how mush I've missed!"

Tom laughed, too. He went into the closet again and picked up his and Alex's backpack. Alex tried to take his own things from his, but tom wouldn't allow Alex to carry anything the way he was banged up, no matter how much Alex assured he was fine.

It was a kind gesture though, and the two boys snuck out the emergency exit they had used before, and took the public bus back to Alex's house; though Alex did receive a few strange glances from people who noticed his current appearance. They got off a block away from Alex's house, walked the rest of the way, and went inside as soon as Alex had opened the door; glad to finally be finished for the day.

* * *

Woo! That was a doozie. Difficult, much. Good? I think so. Do you? Let me know with...

**_Reviews!!_**

Thats right folks, with just a simple thing called a review, you can let me know what you think. Ummm... Yeah. that's it. Suggestions on what should happen next? Let me know that too! I hope you liked it. I liked writing it, so yeah.


	7. Popcorn

Hey my lovies. I finally wrote another chapter. I know, I know. It took forever. I'm really sorry guys, but things have all picked up, and im in a lot of shows, and im trying really hard to keep my math grades up, so I've been having less and less time. But I swear to goodness, that I'll never abandon a story.

Now, this is not the best chapter. It's not even a 'good' chapter I'd say. Then again, it's not supposed to be. It's really just a filler/ transition chapter.

On with the show!!!!!

* * *

Jack walked home at a faster pace than she normally would, but, hey, what could you really ask from someone so worried? She needed to be home, and she needed to be home _now._ She needed to see that _Alex_ was home… Oh, and alive. That too. Home and alive. If he was home and dead, it wouldn't cut it. It would be close, but still, not right.

_Any_way. She was walking home at such a fast pace, she was practically sprinting. And in heels none the less. Half way home, she stopped, took her shoes off, and threw them into a bag with the groceries she was carrying. _Then_ she started sprinting.

When she reached the front door, her feet hurt, but she didn't care. Jack jammed the key into the lock and opened the door in a panic, expecting to be set into another time of waiting and hoping for Alex to return from some unknown place.

What she found instead were two boys watching a movie, sitting on a couch absolutely covered in popcorn. She tilted her head to the side in confusion, raised an eyebrow, and decided to watch a bit more before she made herself known.

How did they get that much popcorn on the couch?

"Alright, alright, alright." Tom slurred. "Try another one. I swear I'll get it this time." He turned around and faced Alex, sending him a mock glare. Alex returned the favor.

"Ready?" Alex asked.

"Ready." Tom assured.

"Go!" Alex yelled. He picked up a bowl of popcorn from the floor, and started throwing pieces at Tom one by one, as Tom tried to catch them in his mouth. He caught about three. Out of about twenty. So _that's_ how they got it all over the place…

When the last of the thrown pieces hit the couch the boys tumbled over in hysterical laughter.

"That was even worse than last time mate!" Alex exclaimed in between breathes of laughter.

"No better than yours!" Tom joked back, "You got four!"

They continued to laugh.

"I'm not cleaning that up." Jack shuffled through the popcorn on the floor and into the kitchen.

"Jack!" Alex stepped off the couch, bringing a truck load of popcorn onto the floor with him. "You're home!"

Jack couldn't contain her relief any longer. "So are you!" she yelled. She dropped the groceries onto the island in the middle of the kitchen. She turned around and pulled Alex into a back-breaking, strangle-worthy, hug. "I was so worried! You could've called me! I'm so glad you're okay! Thank god nothing happened!"

"Jack," Alex choked out, "I can't breathe. You're hugging me too hard." She let him go. "And, um, about that 'nothing happened' thing..."

Jack quickly let Alex go, and grabbed him by the shoulders, giving him a stern look. "What." She demanded.

"Ah, well." Tom stood up from under his blanket of popcorn. "I guess I'd better get going." He made a running start for the door.

"Hey!" Alex whirled out from under Jack's firm grip, and sprinted toward his friend. Being the spy that he is, Alex skillfully tackled Tom to the floor. He stood up almost as soon as they had fallen. After all, he had only needed to keep Tom from reaching the door… Rather violently.

Alex reached a hand down to help Tom up. Tom grabbed for it and pulled himself into a standing position so that he and Alex were both facing a patiently waiting Jack. "Ouch." He mumbled to Alex.

"Oh, shut it." Alex mumbled back, "You know that didn't hurt."

Tom rolled his eyes and swatted Alex's arm. Then the two both turned their attention back to the expectant red head.

"Spill." Jack challenged. "What happened."

Alex held up his thumb, which was now securely wrapped in an ace bandage.

"That's it? You broke your thumb?" Jack questioned. "Not that it's not a problem, because Alex, I assure you, I'm taking you to the hospital to get that properly fixed as soon as possible"

"Oh, come on Jack, it's fine the way it is. Besides it's not even broken. I would know; I've broken my thumb before. I think it's only a hairline fracture." Alex pleaded.

"Fine." Jack complied easily. "So why did Tom have to stay for you to tell me that?" she eyed them both suspiciously. Tom shifted uncomfortably under her gaze.

"Well, uh… you see," Tom stuttered, "There was, uh, there was this guuuuyyyyyyyyy, and-"

"Oh goodness." Jack collapsed into the stool behind her.

"No, Jack, please don't worry. We're fine. Everything's fine." Alex comforted.

"Everything's not fine. It's not fine if something happened at all; no matter how big or small the problem was. And you got Tom wrapped up in this? Alex you can't do that to people!"

"Jack, you know I'm still standing here, right?" Tom asked.

"You know it's not like I _wanted_ Tom to have to go through this."

"Still here, Alex." Tom reminded, pointing an index finger at his friend.

They ignored him. "Alex, I think you should go talk to Blunt about this."

"Who's that again?" Tom asked.

"You know as well as I do that they're going to make me go anyway."

"Go where?" Tom asked, "Where are you going? Who's making you go there?"

"Yes, but now you're going to have to take Tom, too." Jack gestured toward the utterly confused boy.

"Take me where?"

"I _know _that I'm going to have to take Tom. Please try to understand Jack, I don't want any of this to happen, any more than you do. I only have limited control of what happens here. Obviously, if I had that kind of power, I wouldn't have let any of that Scorpia scheming happen in the first place."

Jack sighed. "You're right. I'm just, I don't know Alex. Sometimes I just wish I could be there when something happens so I can help. It's so frightening to know that you're out there on your own when I'm stuck here not able to do anything, you know?"

"Jack, you do even more by being here, and not there."Alex reassured.

"Are you sure I should stay? Maybe I should just go home…" Tom pointed toward the front door.

"Oh, Tom!" Jack exclaimed, "I totally forgot you were here! Sorry, hun."

Tom rolled his eyes. "No, it's fine, I've just been listening anyway."

Alex smirked at him. Of course Alex had been hearing him, he was trained to hear everything. However, that does not mean he paid any particular attention. "Jack," Alex got back on subject, "There was a man from Scorpia at school today. He was only supposed to be on surveillance, but things went a little out of hand. But don't worry, everything's okay, and nobody got hurt. Only him. Nobody even saw. Except Tom. But I swear that's it."

"Alright, Alex." She sighed, standing up, "I'm gonna let this all sink in and put the food away. You two, stay the hell out of trouble. You got it?"

"Yeah." Alex complied, "I should be getting a call from Blunt in a little bit anyway. And Jack, I'm really sorry about all of this."

"Oh, shut up, it's not your fault." Jack smiled. "So why don't you two get back to whatever your doing. I guess I should start on dinner soon anyway. Tom, you're welcome to stay of course."

"Sure." Tom said absently, stepping slowly onto a piece of popcorn that he was intently focused on.

"Alright, great. Oh, wait, I have an idea, how about you clean up the living room?" Jack suggested in a sarcastic but demanding tone.

There was a few second pause.

"Ow! My thumb!" Alex yelped. "Oh, ouch, the pain, the agony… I am so sad. And I was _so_ looking forward to cleaning up that mess. Oh well, I guess now I can only go up to my room, and wait out the pain."

"Oh, Alex, I am so sorry. It seems, Jack, that I must go and comfort my friend in his time of need. I'm so sorry that this mess will have to wait until later. Come on, my little buddy, let's get you upstairs."

The two boys made a quick dash for the stairs and headed right for Alex's nice, clean, popcorn-free room.

Jack rolled her eyes.

Half way through an intense game of Scrabble between Tom and Alex, the phone rang. The boys looked at eachother.

"…."

"…."

"…."

"… Aren't you going to get that?" Tom asked.

"……..Yes I suppose."

Alex picked up the phone and put it to his ear.

"I'll be right there." He answered coldly, and hung up.

"What was that about?! You didn't even say hello, never mind ask who it was." Tom huffed.

"As if I didn't know. " Alex chuckled. "Come on. We've gotta get there."

"Get where?" Tom asked, shuffling little letters from the game into the box.

"The bank." Alex answered matter of factly, placing the board on top of the letters, and closing the box. He walked over the his door and lifted his jacket off the hook it was hanging on.

"The bank?" Tom kicked the red scrabble box under the bed and shoved his shoes on.

"Mhmm." Alex answered.

"Why the bank?" They headed for the stairs.

"I never actually explained this to you, did I…?" Alex realized.

"Explained what?" Tom asked, shuffling through popcorn that seemed to now become part of the floor.

Alex brushed the question off with a wave of the hand. "Nothing. You'll see. It's easier that way."

Tom shook his head in… in what? Confusion? Frustration? Overwhelmed? He wasn't really sure…It was a strange, long….. really strange day.

Alex tossed Tom his jacket and opened the door and they started their trip to the bank.

* * *

Yeah, it's dissapointing, I know. But, hey, it had to happen. Like i said, it's just a filler chapter. hey had to get to the bank somehow, right?So....... Ummm..... Yeah.

Reviews are really awesome. You guys are all really awesome. Thanks for reading!


	8. Ice Cream To Wash Down The Popcorn

Okay, so..... Sup.

Firstly, Blunt may be out of character. Actually, he's probably out of character. It's not because I want him to be that way, and if i could write him better, i would, but i guess i just haven't really grasped his person yet, you know?

Umm.. other than that...... heres the chapter. Theres not much to say about it,

Disclaimer: Nooooobody knoooooooows.............

* * *

After a few minutes of brisk walking in the chill of the evening air, Tom and Alex found themselves outside, on the brick and cement stairs of their destined building. There was also a bright green and pink striped awning above them, and a rainbow spotted frame around the window they were leaning on. Tom examined his well rounded scoop of mint chocolate chip ice cream, deciding on the best spot to take the next lick.

"So… Lemme get what you're saying…" Tom concluded, "The Royal and General Bank… is… is your headquarters? Right?" He found a good spot and licked.

Alex thought for a moment, considering what Tom had said to make sure he was on the right track. He held his gaze at the moon and nodded emotionlessly.

"And… And you were going to just show me when we got there, but then… wait…." Tom tried to comprehend.

Alex looked away from the big circle in the sky and looked mockingly at his friend. He raised an eyebrow, waiting…. Just like Tom told him to do.

"But then instead, you explained it on the way, because you decided that you were going to procrastinate a bit, and led me not to the bank, but to the ice cream parlor…?"

Alex nodded again, smiling goofily, getting a kick out of his baffled friend.

"And, stop me if I'm mistaken, you did this for the sole purpose of not cooperating. You just wanted to piss them off."

Alex pursed his lips together and looked to the side, considering. He slowly started to nod, and returned his gaze to Tom."YYyyyyyeah. Yep, that's just about the only reason."

"Well, then explain to me mate, why in _bloody hell_ would you want to infuriate an organization of people with thousands of weapons of mass, yet subtle destruction at their finger tips?!?"

Alex shrugged. "Mostly just because I don't like them."

"Alex, are you kidding me?!?" Tom threw away his ice cream cone, which had at this point, for all arguments sake, completely melted. "Alex, if there is one thing that I've learned when listening to your stories, it's that MI6 is made up of a whole lot of bad people. Why, why, _why _do you think it's okay to make them angry?" Tom plodded down the steps, his feet hitting the cement rhythmically. Thu-dump, thu-dump, thu-dump.

"Well think rationally for a moment Tom. I know that's difficult for you, but I only ask for one moment." Alex answered sarcastically, jumping down the stairs, not setting foot on any of them, and swatting Tom in the back of the head on the way down. "What could they really do? They need me. That's why they've worked so hard to blackmail into working, and threaten me into staying. See what I'm getting at?" The boys rounded the corner next to the ice cream parlor, and straight ahead the bank was in sight.

"Yeah, I see it." Tom understood, "I don't agree with you, but I get it. Why on earth would I want to anger the bunch? From what I understand, the only thing you have to gain is hard questioning and worse. And to be honest, they basically scare me out of my wits."

"Pfthbt." Alex snorted, "Tom, if you're going to be afraid of anyone in this business, it should probably be the enemy. Not the employer."

"Yeah, yeah. Well forgive me for being a little bit less experienced than you in the art of the spy, all mighty James Bond."

Alex's head jumped up at the statement, and re-ran it in his head:

"…_less experienced than you in the art of the spy, all mighty James Bond.'_

He quickly whipped his head around in all directions. There was an older woman carrying a brown paper bag of groceries behind them walking in the opposite direction. Two teenage girls around the same age as Tom and Alex (that Alex had noted were very cute) had passed them just as Tom had spoken. A family or four were walking about twelve feet in front of them.

"Something wrong?" Tom inquired upon seeing his worried friend.

Alex visibly relaxed. "You know," he answered, pulling open the glass door to the bank, "You'd think that after we so blatantly talk about this in public, people would start to get suspicious." The two stepped inside, "I keep jumping up, thinking that someone who hears is going to like… react. And actually believe us, never mind pay attention."

"I think," Tom said, waiting for Alex to pass him so he didn't have to go first, "That people disregard it _because_ we talk about it so blatantly about it. If we were discreet when we spoke people would think we're up to something. You know?"

"Mhmm." Alex agreed. He walked purposefully up to the fancy front desk.

"Hello sir, how can I help you?" smiled the overly-perky girl at behind the counter. It wasn't an employee that he was familiar with, as he had never seen her there before. Her brown hair was flipped on the bottom with what looked like, and probably was, excessive amounts of hairspray. Her eye liner was too thick to look natural, and her red lipstick was bright enough to require sunglasses for looking at. She was just about the perfect stereotype for the receptionist position.

"Ah, I'm waiting to see a Mr. Blunt? My name is Alex Rider."He spoke confidently and with conviction.

Tom stood behind him, feeling very out of place. _What the hell am I doing in MI6 headquarters?_

The woman checked her computer files with tight lips. "Yes sir, it says here that he's waiting too. You can head right up. Unless this is your first time here? Do you need someone to show you the way?" she blinked what seemed like several hundred times as she said it.

_Ha! I wish. _Alex thought. He briefly imagined the conversation that would have followed. _Yes ma'am, this is my first time here. Gee, this place is so big. I wonder what they use all this space for?_

Hahaha. That's funny.

"No ma'am, I know my way very well. Thank you anyway." Alex replied politely. He made a very impressive looking turn on his heal and began his walk toward the elevator, Tom trailing behind like frightened puppy.

Once in the elevator, with the door closed and the button pressed, Tom seemed to relax.

Alex noted.

"You get so… _tense._" Alex said, for want of a better word.

"What?" Tom asked, not quite sure where Alex was going. Both boys held their gaze to the top of the elevators sliding doors, where the numbers lit up to show the elevators movement.

"You get really tense and… and nervous, whenever there's something going on that is, or you're around anything MI6 related." Alex pointed He wasn't sure why. It's not like he blamed Tom, as he found it very understandable to be frightened by the concept, and if Alex was anybody except himself, he would probably doing the same thing Tom was.

"Well what do you expect?" Tom asked skeptically.

"Oh, no, I get it. I would do the same thing. I was just noticing."

The elevator 'pinged' when it reached it's purposed floor. Tom shook his head as the door opened. "You darn spies, you." He stepped out. "You notice too much for your own good."

"Well," Alex said, repeating Toms exact words, "What do you expect?" He stepped in front of Tom and led him down a long, boring, grey hallway.

They reached Blunt's office and Alex knocked tenderly. No response. He looked over to his friend Tom who shrugged. Alex knocked a bit harder.

"Yes, yes, I hear you!" Came the gruff voice from inside. "Just come in!" Alex again looked questioningly at his friend.

And again, Tom shrugged, this time with a look on his face that said 'Why do you keep expecting me to know the answer, mate?!'

Alex opened the door with trepidation. He peered around the door, and saw Blunt sitting at his desk. He was red in the face with frustration and seemed as though his eyes and focus were glue to the papers in front of him.

"Well what kept you so long boy?" Blunt asked. Seriously. He just _asked._ Alex was hoping for a bit stronger of a reaction. That's why he went through all the trouble to be intentionally late.

"Sorry sir, I got held up." Alex said. He squeezed into the room, Tom hanging behind, not wanting to intrude.

Blunt still didn't look up. Alex wasn't sure what to do. Sit down? Leave until blunt finishes? Wait until he looks up? He wound up just standing there.

...

Okay standing's too boring.

"Um, Sir? Should I come back another time?" Alex asked awkwardly.

"No, no, no, no, no." Blunt waved the question away. "Just sit down for a moment. And by the way, this is a report on what information they had gathered from your own doings today. Needless to say, it isn't much to work off of. 'Tried to kill me and my friend.'" Blunt quoted. "Come on now Alex, that's not even a full sentence," Blunt chuckled.

"Well, sorry, but I was a little busy at the moment. Writing a report worthy of being my college essay wasn't really at the top of my list." Alex defended.

"Yes, I understand. Now sit why don't you." Blunt looked up from the papers and gestured to the chair. Alex sat. Blunt noticed Tom in the doorway, and suddenly became very cold. "Alex. Who is this?"

"This is Tom." Alex said very casually, as if there was no thick layer of tension in the room. He folded his hands and put them on his lap. "Oh, now don't you be so shy, Tom. Come on in here."

Tom's eyes widened. He and Alex seemed to share a silent conversation.

'_Alex, what are you doing?!?'_

'_Get your god damn ass in here, or I'm dead meat.'_

That was pretty much what it was. Tom scuttled into the room, keeping his eyes glued to the floor.

"What is this 'Tom' doing here?" Blunt asked.

"This 'Tom' happens to be my friend. In fact, he is the exact same friend mentioned in my incomplete sentences. I thought I might bring him along." Alex kept his nonchalant appearance.

Blunt sighed, annoyed. Though he didn't approve, he knew Alex was right. If Tom almost got killed as well, Tom knew. If Tom knew, Tom had to come to the Royal and General.

"Very well." Blunt mumbled. "You… Uh, that one that's Tom, sit there." Blunt pointed to the other chair, to the left of Alex. Tom did so.

Blunt eyed the two boys scrutinizing. "Let's hear the whole story then, shall we?"

* * *

ta-da! Not much. I liked it though. I'm not sure why, it was just fun to write.

There will be some more action-esq awesomeness chapters coming up. But i have to get to them first, so bear with me.

I realize Blunt chickled. But hey, like i said, havent grasped it. I dont know what it is. I like, can't figure him out. im like "HOW THE HELL DO I WRITE BLUNTS CHARACTER?!?!?!"

Anyway......Please review. Reviews are much appreciated, and i likely will respond. I like it when people point out mistakes, so feel free.


	9. Awkwaaaaaarrrrddddd

I am SO SO sorry. I keep saying that, and I keep feeling bad that i'm not updating more, but I just don't have any time. But like I said, I will never ever abandon a story. If you just wait a little while, I promise that I'll update. It just may take a while.

This chapter? I'd say kinda boring. But it builds up a lot in the next few. I'm not giving away more than that yet. I'm going to torture you with it like hanging a peice of string in front of a kitten.

Umm... I got a lead in my school musical. So thats fun. But time consuming.

Disclaimer: *wink* I own Alex Rider. *Lawyer whispers into ear* What?!? I can't even say it if I wink, too?!?! FINE! I don't own Alex rider, or any of the characters. Except that guy Alex knocked out. Happy now, lawyer man?

* * *

"…And so THEN," Tom said, now out of his chair, miming everything he was saying. "Alex asked for the rope, and when I finally GAVE him the rope, Alex tied the guy up." Alex nodded, as if to agree. He would have to admit, he enjoyed having someone else give the report more then he liked doing it himself.

It was Blunt's idea. Something about how he knew Alex could twist things and lie and not tell the whole truth, just so MI6 wouldn't bother him so much. Blunt then went on to say that, if Tom was there, he might as well make himself useful. He probably regret making that that decision now. In all of Tom's nervousness; which at least had worn off by now, he had left out absolutely no detail. Absolutely. None. A report that could have taken half an hour or less had trailed onto a good two and a half hours.

Ah well. Alex was entertained. Though Tom was being a little over-thorough with his report, the fact remained that, it was funny. Especially with the miming and sound affects he was adding in. More times than a few, Alex was on the receiving end of a clod glare from Blunt, on account of his snickering. Alex zoned back in.

"… And then, we got back to Alex's house. When we were on the bus, Alex wasn't wearing a shirt, and people kept looking at him funny. Because, you know, usually when people get on public busses, they aren't bloody, and not wearing a shirt. There was this one guy in the back that kept looking at him and licking his lips. It was really creepy. I mean, if you want to be gay and all, that's fine, but this guy had like, no teeth, and he kept fixing his balding comb over. And he had no fingernails. Just bloody scabby stubs. Egh. And also, there was thi-"

"Alright!" Blunt finally exclaimed, cutting Tom off. Tom abruptly stopped and sat down in the black leather chair; back straight and chin up. Like being at attention only, in a chair. Alex had buried his face in the back of his chair and was shaking and tearing up in a futile attempt not to laugh. Alex noted that Tom did, in fact, have good observational skills. He was almost positive that Blunt noticed as well.

"Alright." Blunt repeated, calmer this time. Alex wiped away a tear and regained his composure. Tom looked terrified again, and Blunt was rubbing his temples looking frustrated. "It seems as though this is going to be a little more problematic than we had first anticipated."

_No shit._ Thought Tom. And Alex.

"I only wish we had more information. Especially with all of those children at stake." Gee, _that_ sure made Alex feel better. Tom only cringed at the words. "Thankfully," continued Blunt, "Mrs. Jones should be on her way up right now with some more information on that man you fought today."

It was only then that Alex realized she had been missing. He had sensed something off, but he hadn't known what it was. He silently scold himself for missing such a huge detail. In his line of work that could be deadly.

"We've got the man held here, so you can be sure he won't bother you anymore. I'm going to read his report and then fill you in." Blunt said.

They sat in an awkward silence for a few moments. Tom kept his gaze at his dirt stained sneakers. Alex held a steady cold stare at Blunt; who at first met the challenged, then ignored the boy and started to file some of his papers away.

Finally, after the pain staking minutes of awkwardness, Mrs. Jones smoothly opened the door. And strolled casually into the room. The scent of peppermint filled all of their noses and the atmosphere instantly lost its tension.

"Mrs. Jones." Blunt nodded in welcome.

She placed a full manila envelope on his desk on top of what looked like a daily planner, and smiled in return to his greeting. She turned around and faced the boys, confusion wrinkling her brow.

"Hello Alex." She said pleasantly enough, facial expression not changing. "Who's this?" She asked him pointing to Tom.

"This is my friend Tom. He was almost killed today in school, so I figured I'd take him with me. Tom, this is Mrs. Jones." He made the introductions casually. Saying 'he was almost killed ins school today' with the same nonchalant attitude he would use if he were saying 'we were playing football today.'

None the less, Mrs. Jones gasped; her soft spot for children kicking in to worry for Tom. "Oh my goodness!" she exclaimed, "Are you okay?! I'm so sorry Tom; there should have been no reason for anyone to be sucked into this." She turned her attention to Alex, "Does he even know what's going on?" she asked.

Knowing the 'what' she was referring to was not just the man in the school, but MI6 as a whole, and the fact that Alex was working for them, Alex shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Hmmm. Should he tell them the truth? Eh, might as well. No clear cut consequences he could think of anyway.

"About that…" Alex started unsure. And then he was blunt and to the point. "He already knew."

"Beg pardon?" Blunt asked, looking up from the papers he extracted from the envelope.

"You remember when I went to Venice to try and find Scorpia? Don't pretend you don't know, I know you keep tabs on me." Alex instructed. "Well Tom came along with me, and since I needed his help, on the train to Naples, I told him everything that happened up to that point. So you see Tom has known all along anyway."

Blunt showed no signs of thought. He stared blankly at Alex. Was he…. Angry? Surprised? God only knew. Though Alex would never show it, he was frightened of what responses could come out of him.

"Oh." Mrs. Jones broke the silence with the simple statement of understanding.

Alex nodded, "So yes. He knows what's going on. And as for this particular mission, I'd say he's just about as filled in as I am."

Tom looked up at Mrs. Jones, bright blue eyes showing a combination of fear, bashfulness, and apology.

"Oh, stop it." Mrs. Jones said to Tom kindly. "It's not your fault, stop looking so sad. You on the other hand," she looked over to Alex, "Alex, I know I don't need to tell you that you went directly against the Official Secrets Act you signed."

"I know." Alex sighed.

"Not much we can do about it now though, is there? And if the boy seriously needed his friends help then I'm sure there's a loophole." Blunt added, swatting the problem away.

Alex raised an eyebrow. It was strange to see Blunt take his side on something like that. Tom looked up upon hearing the crinkling of plastic that Alex and Mr. Blunt were used to. Mrs. Jones popped the freshly opened peppermint into her mouth.

"So… now what?" Alex asked. Things were never 'normal' here at the Royal and General. For God's sake, it was MI6 after all, but things were never _this_ strange. Maybe it was the fact that Tom was now added to their already strange work relationship, maybe it was because this time the mission was in Alex's home school, or maybe it was because of something else entirely. But the fact remained, this meeting was turning out to be incredibly awkward, and Alex didn't like it.

"Now, Alex, you leave." Blunt stood up and pointed to the door with the fancy pen that was still in his hand. "Go on, get!" he emphasized.

"O-okay." Alex said, hesitantly standing up, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "And go where?" He questioned.

"When you leave, we send you to Smithers, and today is no different." Blunt answered, turning to the filing cabinets behind him.

"But Smithers already _gave_ me gadgets yesterday." Alex was still confused. He was having so much trouble getting into his 'spy mode', where he thought faster, his reflexes were faster, and luck seemed to be one his side. It was because he was still at home. He knew it. It was because he was at home; his safe zone; where he never really felt the need to have his guard up. There was no sense of life or death when he was in his house or in his school. At least not until yesterday. Making the transition was what was screwing him up. He knew it. And he _hated _it_._

"And like I said earlier, this is proving to be more problematic than we had first anticipated. So, off you go, talk to the man and see if he's got anything else to help you out. As for your friend here," Blunt turned around dropped a large stack of papers onto his desk. "He's got some Official Secrets Act things to fill out." Tom couldn't help but roll his eyes.

_Great,_ he though_, I just love filling out paperwork. Especially when I'm not in school. _He pulled a pen out of his pocket and scooted the chair closer to the desk.

Alex shook his head to himself, trying to get himself together. _Alright Alex, _he told himself,_ You're on a mission right now. House- possible danger. School- possible danger. Mission. Got it. Good._

He waved good bye to his friend and closed the door with a thud behind him, still feeling like the room was so awkward that he needed to squeeze it out of his shirt and brush it out of his hair.

And so Alex stuck his hands in his pockets, being careful of his thumb that Mrs. Jones and Blunt made no comment of. He walked slowly toward Smithers, bored but in thought. He wound up bumping into someone.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Alex said, quickly reaching down to pick up the small backpack he had knocked out of the man's hand. "Here." He handed it back.

"No need, m'boy, it's yours." Said a big jolly man.

"Oh, Smithers, hello! I was just coming to see you." Alex said, for the first time looking at the person with whom he had collided. "Blunt said I get more gadgets."

"Ah, he would. I'm sorry to say m'boy that under such short notice there wasn't really anything I could do. That man thinks making these things is child's play. Ha! I'd like to see him fit a recorder in a pen! Takes more than a few hours, to say the least."

Alex smiled a crooked smile of amusement. "Then what's in the bag?" he asked curiously, unzipping the top.

"It is an exact copy of the calculator, gum, and eraser caps I handed to you yesterday. Got that message from you this afternoon about you and your friend. I thought it would be a good idea to make sure he's not completely defenseless."

And sure enough, in the bag Alex found a calculator, eraser caps and a green pack of gum.

"Wait," Alex said, "My gum was blue."

"Oh alright. So they're not exactly the same. His is watermelon flavored. I ran out of mint flavoring." Smithers chuckled.

Alex chuckled along with him.

"But other than that, I swear there are no differences. I'm going to try and come up with something else so give you, but until then, watch your back, give your friend a walkthrough on how these work, and try not to get yourself into any crazy predicaments, for want of a better word." Smithers laughed again, shoulders bouncing and smiling face. "I'll get in touch with you as soon as I've come up with and put together another gadget for you, alright, m'boy? Now I'm sorry, but I've really got to get going. I was on my way to drop this off with you, so I could head down to a lecture I've got to give. Now like I said boy, be careful!" And he began walking away.

"Of course Smithers. Thanks!" Alex called and left the building. Oh yeah, it had been an awkward day in MI6.

Alex supposed he should wait for Tom. He sat on the clean marble shine of the stairs to the building and rested his head on his fist. God only knows how long Tom will be filling out those papers. Alex sighed an exasperated sigh and leaned his head against the rail. Nothing left to do but wait.

"Oy, Alex!" Alex jumped with a start. He must have dozed off waiting. It was darker now and his hands were cold. Tom stood before him, and amused smirk on his face.

"Hey Tom." Alex said, standing up and stretching himself out. Ow. Stiff neck. Note to self, never again fall asleep leaning against a railing. "How'd it go?"

Tom gave an abrupt mock glare. "If you ever leave me alone with those people again, mate, I swear I'll kill you."

Alex laughed "I'd like to see you try." He started walking. "How bad was it? What did they make you do?"

"Just fill out those papers. But the man kept huffing like he hated my guts and wanted me out as soon as possible, and the woman that smelled like peppermint just kept giving me these looks like she was sorry for me. Normally that wouldn't be too much of a problem, but under the current circumstances, it felt like she was thinking 'what a nice boy, so sad he's going to die.'" Tom's imitation of Mrs. Jones was impressively accurate. "Who's Smithers again? Where did they send you off to?"

Alex kicked a rock on the ground and zipped his jacket up all the way. "He makes all the gadgets and what not. In fact, these are yours." Alex handed Tom the bag, with a ruffling sound when it brushed against his jacket.

"Seriously?" Tom took the bag, eyebrows raised. "I get stuff? What's in here?" He didn't bother opening the bag.

"The same calculator, gum and erasers I got. Only, your gum is watermelon flavored." Alex added as if it were of importance.

The boys rounded a corner. "I want a trade." Tom said.

"What?" Alex asked, "Why on earth does it matter; it explodes in five seconds anyway."

"Well," Tom said bashfully, "If I'm going to ask Madison out, it would be nice to know that I could always have minty breath after I blow something up. I mean, after James bond does something all awesome and heroic, he always gets a girl, right? So if I do something really cool, and I get a nice awesome French kiss, I want a nice winter mint breath. So what do you say?"

"Whatever." Alex said, "I don't plan on kissing anyone, never mind have a completely fake James Bond moment."

"Sweet." Tom chimed. They rounded another corner, past the ice cream shop they had been at earlier; now deserted in the later hours of the night. "So tomorrow morning, first hour, I expect a trade in gum."

"Okay, okay!" Alex laughed. "First hour I'll give your gum, jeez." Their roads split way. Tom lived down the next corner, while Alex lived one more over.

"Alright, Tom, listen up because this is really important." Alex said.

"Listening." Tom answered happily.

"Okay, first thing, the erasers are for attackers. Please Tom, don't try to fight anyone off. Crack the eraser and let them pass out. If you get captured, gum the lock. You already saw the calculator, but that's not what I'm worried about. Just, put an eraser in your pocket while you're walking home, okay?" Alex instructed.

"Sure." Tom opened the backpack and placed two erasers in his pocket to be safe. He knew Alex was right.

"Alright. That's it. Be careful mate!" Alex said, starting to walk.

"Always." Tom reassured almost sarcastically, turning to walk the other way. "Wait!" be called back loud and suddenly.

"What?!?" Alex jumped.

"……Did we have any homework in Mr. Brinks class?" Tom asked.

"Pft." Alex sounded. "At this point, I don't remember." Alex mumbled.

"Okay. I'll call someone when I get home. See ya, mate."

"See ya."

And so they parted their ways and continued to their houses in the pinch of the chill night air.

* * *

I like watermelon gum. It's my favorite. In fact, if Tom had just done something like blow up a door so save me from captivity, I wouldn't mind kissing him, especially if he tasted like watermelon 3 Same goes for Alex. And Alex would probably look really sexy after blowing a door up...

Mr. Brink is a teacher in my school. I've never had him as a teacher, but he's there. From what i hear, his head is way too small for his body. tee hee!

Anyway, I hope you like it. Please review. Theres a button, please press it. It's right there:

V


	10. Normal Life

Haha!! You guys didn't see THIS coming, did you?!?! You thought I'd abandon the story, didn't you?!?! Well that was my fault for not updating in monthes. Sorry. I've had the worst writers block in the history of writers block and as a result, I personally think this chapter is a little suckish. But I've said it before, and I'll say it again, that I'll never abandon a story. Just give me time.

Well today, seeing as I have the flu (Not the swine version) I was home from school all day! After being bored for a good four hours, I decided, "Hey! Why not try and finish that chapter!" Not gonna lie, it was actually very difficult, seeing as I was sitting here going "What the heck am i supposed to write?!?!? Nothing's happening in the story right now!!!" But it hink i made up for that.

So here it is, the long awaited chapter *cough* I don't remember what number this is *cough*!!!

**Disclaimer**: If I pretend to be delusional with the fever from the flu, can I say that I own Alex Rider?

* * *

Alex chewed his food slowly. Though Tom had planned on staying for dinner, it had gotten too late while they were out. As soon as Alex had gotten home he gave Tom a ring to see if he had made it home without running into any… oh, I don't know… megalomaniacs with the intention of killing him? Yeah that sounds about right. He hadn't. The only person he ran into was his elderly and still aging neighbor as she walked her dog. And no, there was no homework in Mr. Brink's class.

Though Alex would never tell Tom, for fear of making him nervous; he was very worried about his friend. He couldn't even fight off the school bullies, never mind trained assassins. That's how they had become friends in the first place. Alex had saved him from losing an entire year's worth of milk money… which, granted, wasn't very much, seeing as how little milk cost, but still, it was the concept that mattered.

Plus he was worried for himself. He didn't know if this was going to be something he could do; keeping his secret a _secret_ so close to home. It would be hard to beat the odds this time; which made him worried for the entire school as well.

All aside from that, this burger was pretty damn good! So, he took another bite. "Jack, this is quite possibly the best burger I've ever had.

"Damn right it is! It's because I'm from America. Fat, greasy food capitol of the world. Represent!" She pumped her fist into the air sarcastically. "So how are things as of now? They finally decide to send in backup?"

"Er… If by backup you mean Tom, then yes."

"What?!? They're sending an untrained little kid into this? I mean, sending you in was bad in the first place, but to they're getting Tom involved now?!?! What on Earth are they thinking! They can't seriously expect this to work out with just you and a school kid friend fighting!"

"Well… Actually just me. Tom's not fighting. As evil and manipulative as they are, they aren't stupid. They know better than to send a kid into the fighting. They just gave him some defensive things." Alex added, taking another bite.

"Well, they sure as hell didn't have a problem sending _you_ on these missions. _You're_ just a kid, too Alex." She picked up a fry and bit into it in a delicate manner that seemed unfitting for the fat greasy food.

"Well, yes, but I'm…" Alex paused to think of the right word…. And to take a bite of food, "I'm an _exception_, to say the least." He put a twist onto the word 'exception' that made it clear of its meaning.

"And that doesn't make me anymore okay with this. Honestly Alex," She stood up and moved her empty plate and glass to the sink, where she instantly turned on the water to begin washing them. "I just can't seem to find any logic in any of these people's decisions! And hun, I promise, if you come home with any more injuries like you did today, I think I'm going to have to interfere! I mean, look at you! You're thumb is wrapped up. Your covered in cuts, and you've got yourself quite the shiner there on your eye!"

"Jack, come on." Alex said, rising to bring his plat to the sink as well, "You know as well as I do that you can't 'interfere' as you put it. We're both sworn to secrecy."

"Yeah, yeah…" Jack droned, handing Alex a plate to dry with a dish towel.

"Besides," Alex teased, "I think the black eye makes me look tough. I'll just tell people I got into a fight in the back alley of a bar."

"Alex, I think I'd punch you myself if I ever caught you near a bar." She dried the last of the plates and slid them into their home in the cabinet. "That's no place for a fourteen year old."

"Aw, but Jack," Alex sat back down, smiling for what felt like the first time that day and played along, "I just love getting drunk with a bunch of big burley men in a room that smells like smoke. It's all the rage with us kids these days."

Jack laughed carelessly. "Alex, I'm not gonna lie, but the thought of you getting drunk is so farfetched, I can only laugh at the thought." She sat back down as well, "But I'm serious when I say that if you ever come home drunk, I'm grounding you for the rest of you're life."

"Not a problem." Alex agreed.

The rest of their night went something like that; speaking in a rather random fashion of whatever came to mind. Alex finished up his homework while Jack watched TV, they said their goodnights and headed off to their rooms. Alex took a shower, taking care to be gentle around his new cuts, then checked him room for bugs and bombs and camera's. You know, the usual.

Upon completing his sweep, he felt positive he was secure; but he couldn't help but feel someone was watching him. Couldn't shake the feeling that someone wanted him dead.

_Well that's nice_, Alex thought sarcastically, _I just love it when I feel like a rapist is sitting in the tree outside my window. It's the best feeling in the world!_

But at least he'd started to get into the frame of mind he needed to be in while on a mission. Always watching. Check behind your back. Listen carefully. Be on alert. Keep your reflexes in check. Always at least two escape plans in any given room. Have a fight plan in case of attack. Keep your eyes……..

What...? What, that's it? Not even going to finish the sentence? Come on Alex, the people are dying to know what you're thinking. Oh, wait. He'd fallen asleep. Soundly and comfortably, blond hair tussled and fluffed against a soft blue pillow case. All right fine, we can wait…

---

School was relatively normal, other than the stares he received due to his black eye. Alex and Tom spoke softly on their way to class

"Do you think they've sent in anyone new yet? They're bound to have noticed by now that you've gotten rid of their first man." Tom had whispered worriedly. He was new to this whole spy thing, but he was far from stupid. He spoke in low tones that no-one could hear if they were not standing as close to him as Alex was, and he knew not to use any names. No mention of Scorpia, no use of the word janitor.

_Kudos_ Alex thought simply.

Still, Alex looked around to see if any of his classmates heads were turned in their direction, eavesdropping.

"Unfortunately, I have no idea." Alex mumbled. He was being truthful, he hadn't heard back from MI6 yet, and he didn't think he had seen anything suspicious at all that day. Of course they'd noticed their man was down, but Tom's guess was as good as his own on what action they'd taken from there.

"You have no idea?" Tom questioned louder, knowing that there were some things that didn't matter if people heard. "What do you usually do with this kinda stuff? Does someone let you know?"

Alex ran his good hand through his hair and adjusted the position of his backpack on his shoulder. "Well, to be honest, mate, I usually just have to wing it" he huffed.

"You're kidding!" Tom exclaimed, smiling with eyebrows raised. "You mean to tell me that all that stuff you've told me about, you've made up on the spot?"

Alex smiled, "Just about, yeah."

"Wow…" Tom turned the corner towards their classroom with Alex at his side. "That's bloody brilliant Alex. I wish I could think that fast."

"Trust me when I say it's not all it's cracked up to be." Alex laughed coldly.

Tom noticed.

"I suppose you might be right," He agreed, not really understanding, but wanting to make his friend feel better anyway, "But you have to admit, it does come in handy."

"Yes I suppose so." Alex nodded, turning into the doorway of maths class.

_Yes, it _does_ come in handy, doesn't it?_ Alex mused; _I guess it _would_ have been inconvenient if I hadn't thought to kill people. Well… inconvenient for _me _at least.. For _them…._ Well… not so much._

"Hey Alex! Did you fall of the bed or something?" Joseph called from the hallway. Joseph for some reason hated Alex's guts, and if he found anything; anything at all; to pick on him with, he would use it. This time, it was the black eye.

Alex turned around to face the boy.

"Yes. Yes Joe, that's exactly what happened. I fell off the bed and hit my eye on my sneakers that I'd left there." Alex said plainly, not caring what people would think about him falling off the bed.

"Yeah, well... You… uh… You're stupid!" Joseph retorted, not having expected Alex to agree.

_Wow! Not the brightest crayon in the box… _Tom thought as a reaction to the boy's comeback.

"Just go to class and pay attention, Joe. You sure as hell could use the extra help." Alex suggested innocently. He turned on his heal away from the snickering classmates and walked to his seat.

"Damn…" Alex muttered.

"What?" Tom asked as he slid into his seat to Alex's left.

"Well now that's the story I'm gonna have to stick with." Alex said under his breath.

"Riight…" Tom nodded regretfully. Not that it was his fault or anything; but he did feel bad. Alex got teased enough as it was; what with being absent all the time with the excuse of just being sick. All the kids just assumed he was a sissy wimpy kid, how else would he get sick so much?

Well Tom know better, and he held a certain admiration for Alex's action's, if not a bit of jealousy. He wasn't always jealous. In fact, he was almost never jealous. It really wasn't until the other day with the janitor guy that wasn't a janitor and he'd watched the fight. Man was _that_ intense. The small jealousy only came from the helplessness. Like Alex had to protect him.

Oh well, Alex was his best mate nonetheless and if… ooo…. It's Madison… She's so pretty… Her hair is so nice… Especially the way the curls bounce when she walks…

Wait, what?!? What was he thinking about again? All Tom could remember was something about Alex, and then Madison walking into the room.

"Hey Madison!" He waved. She waved back, smiled, and pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Tom would like to have spent the rest of the day doodling on his notebook and trying to remember his name, but he was unfortunately interrupted by a sharp

"Take out your homework, class. I'll be collecting it and grading it as a test."

That was promptly followed by collective moans and sighs, but the class complied anyhow.

It seemed like there really _wouldn't_ be anything strange happening that day...

* * *

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand there it is. Yeah, i know, not very exciting, but i think it's at least well written. And yes, there WAS foreshadowing in that chapter! Foreshadowing... Forshadowing? Fourshadowing? I don't know how to spell it...

As i was writing this i realized that i've never met anyone named Madison. For some reason, that upset me. I wish i had a friend named Madison. So anyone out there with that name, leave a comment and we can be friends!!

Randomness aside, Please please PLEASE review!! The number of people reading this is ridiculous compared to the number of people reviewing. It's like, less than seven percent of you are reviewing, and that's not an exaggeration. So i'm beggin you, i'm on my virtual knees, please just leave a comment. It doesnt have to be long. Just a little comment. A baby one. They make me want to keep writing.

Now, I love you all! I bid thee adieu, and ....I dont know... something else in french... Thanks!


	11. A Day in the Life of Tom

I didn't die. Contrary to popular belief and rumors. I actually just had writers block... Which is still a problem, not gonna lie. Help me out there please?

So I've had a job this summer. I work at a pool, it's pretty kick ass. But very time consuming. I work forty hour weeks. Hence:no time to even think about fixing this disease i call writers block. But school starts in a week, and surprisingly, I think I'll actually have more time then then I do now.

Anywho!! On with the story!!! I really like this chapter! I have no idea why. I just do. I think it's a bit longer then others, though i cant be entirely sure. And now i have a little mini survey to ask of you guys:

Would you like to see K unit in this story? I'm torn. I don't know whether I want them there or not, so it's up to you guys! Just leave your opinion in a review.

Aaaanndd chapter titles? Anyone? Lemme know if this one is good or if you think I should change it please?

Disclaimer: I was walking down the street, right? And I see this sign that says "We sell Alex Rider!!" And i thought "I could totally buy him!!! But then i realized they meant the book, not his rights.

* * *

Today was not at all going as planned. In fact, there was probably no way it could have gone worse.

First off, he had only been threatened with detention once, and he had only hit three teachers with spitballs. A test had been scheduled for tomorrow, and Madison was only in two of his classes.

So all in all, Tom was having a very bad day. Uneventful and boring.

But last hour of the day was physical education. What Tom liked to (very sarcastically) call "Alex's oh-so favorite class." What with the scars and such, he had to change in the bathroom stall _inside_ of the locker room, instead of the locker room itself. And then, to top it off, he had to refrain from running too fast, or doing too many push-ups, and he had to miss the ball and the goal every once in a while. He couldn't afford to stand out physically. It was too risky for his cover.

But for Tom, it really _was_ his "oh-so favorite class." Come on. No tests, no chalkboards, no desks or classrooms. He got to run around outside, play sports (which he loved very very much), and get graded on participation. Seriously. What teenage athlete wouldn't love _that?_ And today, happy day that it was, they were playing football in teams of nine. The sun was out, the grass was green, the air smelled sweet like dried leaves and post rain puddles, and right after they were done, Tom could get his butt out of the school building.

Tom was placed graciously as the goalie, and the only way he could possibly have been happier was if someone came by and offered him the winning lottery ticket and a chocolate Sunday.

The gym teacher split the teams so they would be relatively evenly matched. There were four boys on the school's football team in the class, and four teams total. One game on each of the two fields. Perfect. Unfortunately… This also meant that Tom would be playing against Alex, who was the football player on the team rivaling his own. And Alex, though his best friend and companion, was a worthy opponent. He was playing center forward, and Tom was the man in between Alex and the goal. And when Tom played, he played to win. There would be no half-assing this.

No matter! Through Alex's array of skills and talents, strength, agility and speed, there was one thing Tom knew he would always be just a little bit better at. And this was it. This was his game. He was in his element. And Alex Rider… was going down.

It was going to be so much fun!

The whistle blew, and they were off. The ball was kicked by someone on Tom's own team, but immediately ricochet off someone else's knee and came soaring down his side of the field.

Alright now Tom… Tom figured it was a good time for an inner motivational monologue…On your toes… Alex is somewhere around that ball…

"You're going down mate." Came from somewhere behind him. Tom whipped around to view the unseen speaker, and there, leaning casually on the pole of the net was Alex. "I'm winning this game."

"You're off sides you know." Tom pointed out with an edging smile, bringing his attention back to the ball, which had made it's way back toward the other goal.

Alex shrugged "Well, I hear no whistles. I'm sticking around."

"How'd you even get over here?" Tom laughed. "I thought you were over by the ball."

"Please," Alex laughed back, "I sneak. It's what I do."

Tom, now thoroughly amused and firmly assured that the ball would stay away from his side of the field for a moment or two, risked another glance at Alex. He cocked an eyebrow and the corner of his lip twitched up "Just get your ass over there. If we're doing this, it's gonna be a fair fight."

"Oh, it's on." Alex mused. He pushed himself off the goal post and began a steady jog back toward the ball. "I'm playing hardball this time mate." Alex smirked.

"Oh? Is _that_ what you call it?" Tom laughed and watched him run back to the other side of the field. Upon turning his head back to the game though, his eyes caught glimpse of….

Madison!! The most beautiful girl in the entire school. With the blonde hair and green eyes… And the cute little nose that crinkled when she laughed… And-

"GOOOOAAAAAALLL!!!!!!!!!!" The teacher screamed. Tom jumped, spun around in a panic, and saw the ball roll to a stop in the corner of the net.

"…Shit!" he yelled. The other team cheered and his team jogged back to their positions to put up another battle. Tom walked slowly toward the ball, then picked it up, whirled around and sprinted out to throw the ball to a team mate who could set the ball again.

"Well, well, well…" Said a familiar voice from a familiar place. Tom turned his attention back to the net pole where Alex stood panting nonchalantly. "I warned you before…. I sneak… It's what I do."

"Shut up." Tom retorted, determined to not let it happen again. "Still though Alex… I never even see you coming."

"As flattering as that is," Alex joked, "I can't take all the credit. I'll have to graciously thank Madison for capturing your attention."

Tom felt his face get hot and turn red. Alex snickered on the side. "Come on mate, seriously, just Ask. Her. Out. That's all you have to do! Just walk over and say 'Hey Madison, I was wo-'"

"Okay I get it!" Tom cut in. "I'll ask her out! Yeesh! But… not now. Nah, I've gotta wait for the right time. I've gotta… I've got to _woo_ her first."

"_Woo_ her? Did you really just say that?"

"GGGOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLL!!!!!" and the screams began again.

"Again!?!?! Are you serious?!?!?" Tom ran to the ball and threw it with all his might, this time _really_ not going to let it happen again.

"Wow… And I didn't even have a part in that one." Alex teased.

"Get outta here mate." Tom laughed. "Madison is watching…still. Look."

Alex looked. Sure enough, Madison sat daintily on the aluminum bleachers on the side of the field. With her legs crossed at the ankles and her hands clasped gently in her lap she seemed to be watching the two boys intently.

"You see? You don't need to…"Alex snickered, "…_Woo_ her. You've already gotten her attention."

"It's more complicated than that." Tom protested, "I have to actually make sure she like's me first, then," The ball came soaring toward the goal and made a nice swatting sound against Tom's foot as he kicked it back into the field. He never even looked away from Alex. "Then I have to see if she likes me enough to _date_ me, and then I have to ask her in a romantic way. It's complex."

"That," Alex said, referring to the save Tom had made. "That was impressive."

"Yeah." Tom said cockily, cracking his knuckles. "Greatest sound in the world. The leather of a football smacking the leather of my shoe. Beautiful. By the way… It looks like my team just scored. You might want to get back out there." Tom waved him off competitively.

This _was _going to be fun…

Fourty five minutes later, twenty boys or so piled into the sweat stink filled locker rooms. Alex slid off to the side, clothes in hand, to change in the bathroom stall. Tom, already changed with backpack on shoulder, leaned against the sink and waited for his friend.

_Who lost by the way!!!!_ Tom added in his head.

But he had waited long enough.

"Oy! Alex! Are you okay in there or did you forget how to button your pants?" he jested.

"No I didn't forget, but this god damned fractured thumb is making it pretty difficult. Would you like to button my pants Tom?" He asked sarcastically.

Tom rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Of course. It's been an aspiration of mine for years." He joked.

Alex laughed and came out of the stall, knapsack on back and pants thoroughly buttoned.

"I've managed on my own, thanks." Alex smirked and the two began walking.

A few boys were still scattered in the locker room in various stages of changing their clothes. Some were tying their sneakers, some were in their boxers, but all of them gave Alex a weird look as he walked by, wondering why he can't change in front of them.

Nonetheless, Alex disregarded them and pushed his way through the door.

"So Tom…" Alex mused, "I've been thinking."

"About how I beat you?? About how miraculous my goal was?? Or my save?? Or were you thi-"

"No. No I was not." Alex rolled his eyes…Yeah… he lost. By a good three points. But anyway…"I was actually thinking about more serious stuff."

"What, you mean like work?" Tom asked rounding the corner of the hallway. He turned around and started walking backwards so he could face Alex.

"Yeah. Work." Alex looked thoughtfully up toward the security cameras.

"Alright shoot. What's no your mind?" Tom said, still taking backwards steps.

"I'm just not sure what to expect. Three o'clock turn." Alex added; directing Tom from walking into a wall. His walking habits as he spoke to Alex had become ritual and the two had worked out a system. "I mean…. I'm trying to narrow down specifics. Specific people, as opposed to the entire organization."

"Come up with anything so far?" Tom smoothly rounded the corner.

"You know, until I actually started _trying_ to narrow down people with a vengeance, I didn't think it was _possible _to piss this many people off."

"It's a gift Alex. A gift, and a curse my friend."

"You know what kind of gift it is? The kind with the nice paper and pretty bow, where the inside is ticking. And as soon as you shake it to try to hear what's inside BOOM!! Your face is blown off."

"Well, you know what they say. When it rains it pours." Tom shrugged.

"No! No, Tom! No! It never rains. It just… pours!"

"Exactly. When it rains, it pours."

"But-" Alex stopped. "Never mind. It's debatable. Six o'clock turn."

Tom rounded the wall of lockers and walked outside through the school's side door. He turned back around and began walking normally towards his bicycle on the bike rack. It looked… pitiful next to Alex's bike. It was like chocolate chip cookies versus Chipwhiches in Tom's eyes. The cookie is good. Hell, the cookie is great, and you think you've got it made. But then. Someone shows up with a Chipwhich, and you realize "Oh… So THIS is what chocolate chip cookies can do!"…That, or maybe he was just hungry.

"Wait… Wait, where was this conversation going again?" Tom asked, stomach rumbling. _Yup. Just hungry._

"It was going towards work, remember? Trying to narrow down specifics?"

"Oh yeah." Tom reached down to unlock his bike chain, putting in the four number code "4444". Okay, so it wasn't the _best_ choice of code, but it got the job done. Alex did the same, entering his, undoubtedly, much safer code. Tom stood straight up, adjusted the weight of the backpack on his shoulders and swung a leg over to mount his bike. He pulled out of the bike rack and turned toward the street to see Alex waiting patiently to ride along with him.

"Okay, so anyway," Tom continued, "Specifics. We already know what organization it is." He was careful again to not actually say 'Scorpia' aloud. "How many people could there honestly be in one stinking organization?" he asked skeptically.

A quick glance from Alex with a raised eyebrow and subtle glare swiftly cleared that up.

"Right. Stupid question." Tom muttered. "Soo…. How many people in said organization have you actually personally affected?"

Alex let a puff of air fall free from his lips, and he stood to put some more 'oomph' in his pedaling. "I don't know. Probably all of them…"

Tom rolled his eyes. Only Alex could figure out a way to do something like that. "Then… How many have you actually come in contact with? Direct conversations or fights? The ones that have seen you and met you in person."

Alex slowed to a stop to let a car pass. He waited a few extra moments to think and to let Tom catch up. "That are still alive, bodily capable and working with them? My guess is as good as yours. I'd say about twenty or so. Maybe thirty. Hopefully no more than that." Alex picked up his foot and put pressure down on the peddle to move again.

"This is good, this is a good start." Tom pointed. "So now we've got… someone from this organization, between twenty and thirty people could be in charge of this."

"That's a good point." Alex declared. His hair flopped messily around as the wind hit his face.

"What is?" Tom asked.

"The person in charge. I mean, it's not going to be ONE person responsible for all of this. It's going to be one person who decided it was necessary, put this whole thing together, planned it out, etcetera, etcetera, and THEN! There's going to be about a hundred OTHER people that are carrying this plan out. Or more. They have a whole organization at their fingertips, and I'm sure none of them would be averse to taking me out."

"Alex," Tom said with a wry grin, "You're such a little trouble maker, you. Bad Alex. Bad. Stop provoking people to kill you!"

"Easier said then done, Tom. Easier said then done." They watched as a group of fellow students passed on the sidewalk opposite them. Madison walked with them. She caught Tom's eye, smiled and waved.

"Alex! What do I do? She waved!" Tom panicked.

"Well… Logic says you wave back and say hi. Maybe even go talk to her." Alex droned sarcastically.

"Okay… I'm going in!" Tom crossed the street with his bike, putting on a façade of cool, calm and collected. Alex Smirked and leaned forward on his handle bars to watch the show.

About three minutes later Tom came rolling back with a little less enthusiasm then before.

"How'd it go?" Alex asked, slowly starting toward his house again.

"She asked how you were and told me to tell you she says 'Hey.'" Tom moped. "I think she might taking an interest in you mate."

"WHAT?!?!?" Alex exploded. "What do you mean she's taking an interest in me!! I don't even think I've ever talked to her!"

"Okay, first off, I said I _think_ she _might_ be taking an interest. Second off, same as _every other girl in the school!!_ I hear it every day! You're good looking, athletic, mysterious past, you've got all those 'rugged' scars as they call them… They all know shit about you Alex. They know absolutely nothing, but they don't care cause you'd be a good prize to show off."

"Well… I hope your not mad Tom. You know as well as I do that I have no control over any of that." Alex apologized.

"Oh, no don't worry, I'm not mad." Tom amended, not wanting Alex to get the wrong idea. "It's just frustrating is all. Besides, she didn't seem _too_ preoccupied with you. She invited me to her birthday party." Tom smiled.

"Oh… Then what's the big deal? What made you think she's interested in _me?_" Alex questioned.

"I don't know. There was subtle interest there. More for me, I will shamelessly brag, but a sprinkling for you." Tom smirked.

"Then ask her out already and get this over with. Yeesh." Alex rolled his eyes.

"How many times have I told you mate, it's not that simple. I'll ask her out when the time is right." Tom avoided.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll believe it when I see it."Alex laughed and pushed forward at a high speed. Tom was caught off guard by the sudden change of pace and looked shocked for a moment. The, he too laughed and sped to catch up to Alex so they could ride to his house together. Alex couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched...

* * *

Soo.... It's really just the last few sentences im not happy with. I don't know why I made this chapter a Tom focus, but I'm glad I did. I like it.

Question repeat: Do you guys want to see K unit in on this?? Leave your opinion in a review!!... Seriously, if you don't actually review with an answer this time I won't know what to do with it. I'll just wait until there's a solid opinion of the readers on a yes or no.

And chapter titles. Is this ttle okay, or do you have a better idea?

Gracias mis lectores!! *cookie* ...Because everyone loves a good cookie.

~Moolikeallama


	12. CATastrophic Afternoon

I start school tomorrow!!!! Which is cool and suckish at the same time!!! WOOOO!!!!/UUGHHH....

Back to the point. This chapter is short. Originally, it was supposed to be connected to the next chapter, but it seemed excessively long, so I broke it in half. And as of right now, its looking like K-unit will become a part of this story. Any last objections? Anybody? I'm personally leaning towards yes. I think it would be interesting. Especially the Tom/K-unit interaction.

* * *

Alex kicked off his shoes as he walked through the front door. His bike was parked neatly in the garage, alongside Tom's; who was yet again, staying at Alex's for the afternoon. The fights of his parents had become enough for Tom to almost never return directly home after school.

Alex dropped his backpack on the floor of the hallway, and Tom followed through the door, closing it behind himself. He watched Alex walk toward the kitchen and quickly removed his shoes and backpack. Yes, his backpack. The one he was proud to say was given as a personal gift from M16, and that now contained a pack of _mint_ flavored gum, as opposed to the watermelon pack he had when he left for school that morning. That was now resting peacefully in the front zipper pocket of Alex's matching bag.

"Alex, is that you?" Jack's voice floated down the stairs.

"No." He replied in a completely serious tone. "But I've bought Tom along."

"Okay," The voice got louder as Jack came closer to the ground level. She emerged from the stairwell in a flowing floral print skirt, pink tank top and white jacket. She walked into the kitchen where she saw Alex rummaging through the fridge looking for an after school snack. Tom was sitting quietly at the island counter top in the middle of the room attempting to build a card castle sorts of structure out of sugar packets.

"How was school?" Jack asked, pulling a box of store bought cookies from a cupboard atop the oven. "Anything exciting happen?" She dropped the package on the table in front of Tom who looked up from his sugar palace with a grin on his face.

_Now that's what I'm talking about!_ Tom thought, _Food!_

Tom greedily ripped open the package and Alex came to sit with him carrying three cups and a carton of Milk.

"Nothing." Alex replied, setting a cup in front of himself, Tom, and Jack. "Nothing at all. It was perfectly acceptable and to my liking, normal." He poured the milk.

"As it should be." Tom said through a mouthful of cookie, crumbs flying out.

Jack raised an eyebrow at him in mild amusement. "Chew before you swallow sweetheart. And swallow before you start talking." She laughed. "So really? Nothing at all?"

"None." Alex replied. He cautiously, and somewhat guiltily, left out the part about his feelings of unease as he rode home. He left out the feeling of watchful eyes glued to his back and the gut feeling that he was missing something.

"In fact, my day kinda sucked." Tom thoughtfully added. "And some kid in my Spanish class almost blew his face up by trying to take a piece of my gum."

Jack laughed through a sip of milk, resulting in the drink sputtering all over the counter.

"Whoa whoa whoa!!! Watch the cookies!" Tom exclaimed. "Where you going Alex?"

Alex was a few steps away from the stool he had swiftly and quietly gotten off of, and was headed for the front door.

"No where, Tom. I've just got something to check on." Alex answered. Tom rolled his eyes, knowing that Alex's 'nothings' were never 'nothings', but were best left at peace for the moment.

Alex rounded the couch and fumbled with the knockout eraser in his pocket. It rolled nimbly through his fingertips, brushing against the cotton of the pants. He reached the front door, and heard it again. There it was! A little scratch! It sounded like it was coming from the bottom of the door. The first time he heard it was while he was grabbing the milk. Then again right before he got up. And now a third time, a little tiny scratch from the outside of the door.

Alex took a breath. He reached a steady, unwavering hand out to the knob. Who ever the hell was outside this door, Alex promised, was not leaving.

He turned the knob, pulled the eraser out of his pocket and cocked his arm, ready to crack the eraser and throw. His heart sped up, and he willed it to slow.

_Not now. Panic later. Now you've got to focus on the job at hand. This…this _bastard_ is not leaving here before I get to him._

Alex took another breathe… Then threw the door open…

"MEOWW!!!!" He dropped his arm. He let go of the door and stood with an unreadable expression. A cat ran down the driveway, scared from its post by the door swinging open. Until then, it had been perfectly content trying to catch a bug that had been flying around on the porch.

_Damn cats._ Alex thought. He put the eraser back into his pocket, took a quick precautionary glance up and down the street, and shut the door. He then proceeded to lock all three locks. He checked the windows to make sure they were locked as well.

"Everything alright in there Alex?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, it's fine. I just thought I dropped something outside when I was coming in." he lied. He heard the sink start and the clinking of milk glasses as Jack began to wash them. _Stupid cats._ Alex thought again. _There was no one there. So why does it feel like there is?_

Tom approached Alex who was completely was lost in thought. He tapped him on the shoulder saying, "You okay mate?"

"Ah!" Alex yelped, jumping around and swinging his fist. Luckily, Tom had known Alex long enough to be used to these kinds of things, and jumped back before there was contact. (The first time it had happened, he returned home to a fretting mother, donning a bloody nose.)

"Whoa there! Slow down mate, you almost got me that time." Tom breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sorry Tom. I'm jut kind of… edgy right now. I can't help feeling like someone's watching…" Alex looked over Tom's shoulder, as if to emphasize his point.

"Well if it makes you feel any better, I'll try not to surprise you again. But Alex, you've got to calm down. I mean, even if someone _was_ watching, which is quite possible under the circumstances, you've still got to think logically."

"Yeah, you're right." And Alex knew it was true. This would not have been how he handled things if he were somewhere other than his home. Even Tom could see that.

"So! Back to business! I actually think I'm going to go home for a bit. I've got to get my homework done and my clo-"

"No!" Alex blurted out. "Which is to say…" He quickly corrected himself. "Actually, Tom, I think it would be better if you spent the night here. If not for your benefit, then for mine. I mean, if there _is_ someone watching then it could be a lot of trouble."

Tom sighed. "Alright fine. But don't distract me, I really do have to finish my homework. Is my stuff all still here?" he asked

"Yep. Bottom left shelf in the closet. Same as always." Alex replied with a grin. Tom kept a supply of things here ever since his parents fighting got more intense. It was for the spontaneous nights he decided he couldn't take the yelling and would just up and leave his house to stay at Alex's. Supply shelf comes complete with a pillow, pajamas, two different changes of clothes (one for school days, one for off days), shoes, toothbrush, deodorant, and Tom's favorite, a video game! You know… in case… um… in case he needed it while he was there.

"Sounds good then!" Tom began his walk up the stairs to Alex's room, backpack slung over his shoulder. "But on one condition," he smiled.

"Wait, I said nothing about conditions." Alex said warily, "Name your price."

"You," Tom answered with a mischievous smirk, "Have to help me with my Spanish homework."

"That's it?" Alex asked with a laugh. "Of everything you could've asked for, _that's_ what you went with?"

"Okay fine," Tom laughed back, attempting to renegotiate, "Then I'll take y-"

"No! no none of that, your price has been named, and I agreed, its to late to try and change it!" Alex fought as they reached his room. E shut the door and dropped his bag. Tom walked over to Alex's desk and threw his backpack on top, ready to work.

"Fine. Then Spanish homework it is." He pulled out a monstrous textbook with the word "¡_Exprésate_!" printed smack in the middle of the cover. "Let's get to work, shall we?" Tom looked over at Alex...

Alex had his head out the window and was looking up and down the street. He came back inside, locked the window and moved over to his closet. From there, he stepped on the bottom shelf, then onto the second shelf so he could reach the top. He pulled down a shoebox with dust sprinkled delicately on the lid. He blew that away. He then proceeded to open the box and fickly pick out a large scuba diving knife.

"Eerrr…." Tom gawked, "Soo…. So Alex. I see you've locked me in a room that's relatively sound proof and pulled out a very threatening looking knife. No one would hear me scream." He said sarcastically, waiting for Alex to explain himself.

"Shut up, Tom," he protested. "Better safe then sorry, you know?"

"Si. Ahora la tarea español" Tom replied with awkward speech.

"Vale, vale. ¿Qué es exactamente lo que quieres que haga? Sólo ayudarte., O qué quieres realmente hacer su tarea. Normalmente yo estaría en contra de ese tipo de cosas, pero hoy realmente me importa un bledo. En realidad, ¿sabes qué? Démelo justo a mí. Voy a hacerlo." Alex replied, not even having to focus on what he was doing. The words flowed freely from his lips, accent perfect and smooth.

Tom stared blankly. "……I have no idea what you just said."

The side of Alex's lip twitched in amusement and he put out his hand. Tom dutifully placed his textbook, notebook and pen on it.

"I'll do it." Alex said flatly, going to sit on his bed and get to work.

"Well! Can't argue with that!" Tom said excitedly, turning around in the chair to reach back into his bag. "I'll just do the maths then I suppose!"

And the boys set off doing the work the teachers had planned for Tom to get done.

* * *

So you know how Tom was building a card castle out of sugar packets? I do that :) I even have pictures. And I also usurped a shelf at my friend's house so i could randomly spend nights there. Just because.

Now... I have to go write four essay's for my english class tomorrow. I had all summer to do them and I'm starting today. I'm just that good at procrastinating. haha!

Peace out dawgs


	13. Football Practice

Told ya. I told ya I wouldn't ever abandon you guys.

I mean, granted it's been like…. Almost a year and a half, but I'm still here, I promise.

Soooo…. How have you guys been? It's been a crazy year and a half for me. We re-did our kitchen; I got a fish about a year ago, and it died this week; I have 2 crazy roommates (one is awesoe, the other is a bitch); Um…. I got a dog, too. I don't know if that happened before or after I disappeared. Also, hey! I'm in college now! When I started this story, I had just started my second year of high school. To be honest, I probably thought about this story at least once a week. Then the other day I found myself reminiscing and I became unnaturally determined to get it going again. So! Here we go. Please excuse any minor inconsistencies, or if this chapter seems a bit… unnatural or forced. I've gotta get back in the flooowwwww…

**Disclaimer**: Please. I'm in college; I'm too poor to own ANYTHING.

* * *

A little over a week had gone by in a similar manner. You know, minus that one French guy, but otherwise the same. Everything seemed normal- Alex was finally caught up on all of his school work; Tom was still single, everyone had accepted that Alex was back, possibly for good. Everything seemed… Well, it all seemed pretty good. His black eye had faded and his thumb remained wrapped firmly in an ace bandage, but was otherwise not a problem.

Tom had spent about every other night at Alex's house in that time; usually by Alex's insistence. Naturally, he had milked that for all it was worth and coerced Alex into doing some portion of his homework. Which is to say, for every night Alex forced him to stay over, Tom forced _him_ to do his Spanish homework. Every time, Alex pushed that Tom would never learn that way. And every time, Tom would push that he didn't care, because he had no plans to be shipped to Spain by MI6.

Throughout the week, Alex had found himself easing more and more into his comfort zone. He was pretty confident that he had found a satisfactory middle ground between his school life and his 'work' mode. Though it was difficult to tell, because there had been no attacks, or agents from Scorpia, or snipers, or anything in that realm to put Alex's theory to the test.

So it wasn't all too surprising that Thursday afternoon when Alex punched his friend Kyle in the face during football practice.

"Agh!" Kyle exclaimed, throwing his head back and falling onto the grass, holding his bleeding nose. "Alex! What the hell was that for?" He blamed.

"Er, Sorry Kyle," Alex apologized, bashfully rubbing the back of his neck. "I suppose you just surprised me, is all…" Alright, so it wasn't the best of excuses, but hey, a boy can try.

"I _surprised_ you? And you punch me in the face?" Kyle removed his hand from his nose so he could examine the blood that had collected in his palm.

"Is everything alright over here, you two?" Tom asked, finally having reached the two of them after jogging all the way across the field from the opposing goal.

"Alex punched me in the face!" Kyle pointed again.

Tom looked at Kyle. His bright orange curly hair sat mounted on his head, but looked rather ruffled from the fall. His normally pale skin seemed a bit red, but that was probably just from running around. He had some dirt on his knee, but other than his nose, he looked relatively unharmed.

"Oh…. Well….. Oh." Tom cocked an eyebrow at his friend. Alex shrugged as if to say "My bad."

Tom shook his head, black hair flopping back and forth. Alex reached down a hand to help Kyle off the floor, then jogged off to get some ice. Tom helped Kyle to the bleachers where he could sit without the fear of being hit by a ball being used by one of the other players. As soon as he seemed settled, and the coach arrived to check out the damage, Tom ran over to where Alex was stationed at the first aid box.

"Oy! Alex!" he called. Alex turned to his friend. "What was that all about?" he threw a thumb over his shoulder pointing at their (somewhat pissed off) friend.

"He really did surprise me." Alex shrugged again, wrapping a pack of ice in a fresh white towel.

"No, Alex. No. People don't just knock other people in the face when they get surprised." Tom accused.

"Alright, so maybe my mind was wandering. Just a tad." Alex began walking the ice to the bleachers.

"About….?" Tom continued.

"About… things." Alex tried. He wasn't too sure _why_ he tried to avoid giving a direct answer. This was Tom he was talking to. Tom would find out one way or another.

"Tell me now or I'll tell Jack you beat a kid up." Tom fought.

Alex stopped walking, mock shocked. "Whoa, Tom. Bringing out the big gun, are we?"

Joke as he may, but the thought of Jack finding out about this? Sure it was an accident, but these were the types of accidents that Alex and Tom kept to themselves. She was a feisty little American. Alex did not need her knowing about the shenanigans he got into. Sure, he may save the world from time to time, and he informed jack all about _those_ escapades. But when it was boiled down to, he was still just a schoolboy.

_A schoolboy with a guardian who will ground me._ Alex thought to himself.

Tom snagged the ice from Alex with a glare. Alex held up his hands in surrender and gave Tom a look that said "Fine. Just give me a minute." Tom nodded in acceptance and handed the ice pack to the coach.

"Alex!" the man huffed, standing up from his spot on the cold metal bleachers. "Mind explaining to me what happened here?"

Alex looked to Kyle. Kyle shrugged. Alex looked at the coach. The coach raised an eyebrow, expectantly. Alex looked at Tom. Tom stared back and touched his tongue to his nose. Alex swatted his arm at him and smacked Tom in the stomach.

"Tom, just... Just get back to practice." The coach rolled his eyes and shook his head. _Strange boy,_ he noted

"Aye aye, captain!" Tom saluted with a goofy, lopsided smirk, jogging off.

"Sorry coach," Alex apologized "Kyle sort of surprised me."

"He surprised you? And you punched him in the face?" The coach asked.

"That's what I said!" Kyle interrupted, voice muffled by the ice.

"I know coach. Sorry. I was just daydreaming; he caught me off guard when he ran past and clipped my shoulder. My body sort of…. Reacted before my mind got the chance to catch up. Won't happen again." Alex promised. "And, er… sorry, again, Kyle."

Kyle shrugged, not really caring, and brushing the incident off. No real damage had been done. Besides, he was Alex's friend, and anyone who was even remotely familiar with Alex had come to expect this sort of thing now and again.

"Don't worry about it," He assured with a chuckle, "But you owe me a pizza."

"Done and done." Alex agreed.

"Alright you two, stop making googley eyes at each other," The coach demanded. "Alex, back on the field. Kyle, tilt your head back and shut up. You're making it worse. Keep the ice on your face there and don't get up until I tell you. Got it?"

"Yes coach." Kyle mumbled through the ice.

"I told you to shut up." The coach demanded, standing up and brushing himself off. "And you! I told you to get back on the field!"

"Sorry coach!" Alex apologized. He took off at a steady run back to his position as a defense near the goal. The ball in their scrimmage was on the other side of the field and Tom casually mozied over to where Alex was standing.

"So." He said, hands in pocket. "Care to explain that little bit back there?" Tom asked.

Alex stood with his hands on his knees, watching the ball across the field; ready to block it if it suddenly got kicked toward him. "After practice, Tom." Alex promised.

"After practice my ass," Tom pushed. "Tell me what's going on right now, or my threat still stands. I'll tell Jack what you just did."

Alex straightened and turned to his friend. "Would you really tell Jack on me?" he asked with genuine curiosity. He furrowed his eyebrows and examined his friends for signs of an answer.

"Do you really want to test it and find out?" Tom asked, devilish smile playing its way onto his face.

Alex sent a death glare at his dark haired friend. It was, to say the least, an intimidating glare. After all, this _was_ Alex.

But this _was_ Tom; possibly the only person who could stare back at Alex's glares and not even flinch.

"You can't scare me with that," Tom poked, still smiling. "I know you won't actually harm me."

"Do you really want to test it and find out?" Alex twisted Tom's words back at him.

"Ah, I see what you did there." Tom laughed. "Ball!"

Alex whirled around to see the ball being dribbled down the field by a player on the opposing team with a determined look on his face. He attempted to pass it to another player as soon as Alex caught his eye, but Alex intercepted the pass, seemingly coming out of nowhere, and kicked it back down towards the other end of the field. By the time he looked back to his friend, Tom was already jogging back to the goal.

"After practice!" Tom called back over his shoulder. "Or I tell Jack!"

"Fine!" Alex answered. They settled back into the game and continued playing for the next hour of scheduled practice.

Piled into the locker room an hour later, dirty and loud, the entire team of boys changed back into their clothes. Some showered there, some preferred to wait until they got back home. Alex and Tom lagged behind quite a bit, having played for a few extra minutes on their own after the team had been dismissed. Most of the boys were gone, if not already gone, by the time they walked in.

Kyle was already changed, and sat on the bench between lockers tying his shoe when Alex walked past to get to his own locker. (He had chosen one in a rather abandoned corner of the locker room.)

"Oy! Alex!" he called. Alex looked up.

"Kyle." He acknowledged. "How's your nose? Alright then?" he asked.

"It's fine, don't worry about it." Kyle assured. "But tomorrow night a bunch of us are going out to a movie and pizza. And I figure since you owe me one, you might like to come along."

Alex's face dropped to a look of shock momentarily, but he recovered from it before anyone could have noticed. As far as he remembered, he hadn't been invited to go out with anyone since Ian had died.

"… Yyyyeah. Yeah sure!" Alex said, happily. "I just have to check with my housekeeper first."

"House keeper?" Kyle asked, flipping his head in a rather twitchy manner to get his hair out of his eyes.

"Er, I mean my guardian." Alex corrected. "She's a little bit strict with these things sometimes…" Alex ran through the conversation that he knew was coming in his head.

_Who's going to be there? Is it going to be safe? What if someone attacks you? There could be a bomb in the theater! Someone could poison your pizza! Alex… what if one of your friends try to kill you…?_

Alex rolled his eyes at the thought. Yeah…. Jack could get carried away sometimes.

"Alright, just let me know whether or not you'll be there when I see you in class tomorrow. I've got to go catch my ride. I'll see you tomorrow!" Kyle bounced up from the bench and walked towards the door, pushing it open and making his way across the gym.

"Sooo…" Tom said as he rounded the wall of lockers to his friend. The rest of the locker room was empty by this point, and Tom's shirt was already off. "You're coming out with us then?" he checked, while shamelessly applying deodorant.

"Probably," Alex confirmed. "But I'll have to talk to Jack about it first. She's going to want a full rundown of the safety of the situation."

"Is she really that paranoid?" Tom asked, chucking his deodorant and football shirt back into his locker and grabbing his normal clothing.

"You have no idea, Tom." Alex answered. "Every morning before I go to school she makes me empty my entire backpack on the kitchen table so she can see for herself that no bombs have been planted in it."

Tom snickered.

"I'm serious, Tom."

"Well, Alex, I suppose she has the _right_ to be nervous, don't you think? I mean, sure maybe she's taking it a _bit_ far, but it's been quiet for over a week now, and we all know that they aren't going to just _stop._" Tom came back around the wall of lockers, fully dressed and still a tad sweaty, to meet Alex in his deserted corner.

"Yeah, I know." Alex sighed. He did a quick back and forth glance to check for anyone else in the locker room. When he was positive no one besides he and Tom were inside, he lifted up his shirt to change.

The sight of the scars and whatnot gave Tom a thought.

"Alex," he said, "What exactly happened with Kyle before?"

Alex pulled his fresh shirt on and turned to Tom, leaning against his locker, arms crossed. "I was just… thinking, I suppose."

Tom rolled his eyes and leaned his elbows on his knees from the bench where he was sitting. "Yes, we've gotten that far already. No what were you thinking about?"

Alex ran a hand through his hair. "List of possible suspects," he put bluntly. "I've been trying to narrow it down all week. I was thinking about one particular um… henchman, when Kyle got my shoulder."

"Alright…" Tom processed, "Which henchman? Why did that particular thought make you react violently?"

Alex took a moment to appreciate Tom's seemingly endless willingness to act as his psychologist. Well… Maybe not so much a psychologist, but at least a metaphoric whiteboard- someone to bounce ideas off of. But he never seemed unwilling to deal with Alex's life and the problems and dangers that cam alone with it. In fact, he always seemed quite eager to help.

"It was just some random _guy_. I only encountered him once, actually. He seemed pretty high up on the officials scale though. He wasn't a bottom of the barrel kind of guy; he did hold some power. But he was there immediately before Rothman got killed by that falling satellite. And… you know, he blames that on me. Obviously. In his eyes I've killed his boss, ruined their entire plan, and ruined his life. So it's not unfathomable that he's out for revenge. But like I said before, he's just some random _guy_. So I don't know why I _punched_ Kyle." Alex pondered.

"Well what exactly did Kyle do?" Tom asked.

"He was running past is all. I was a little spaced out, he ran past, clipped my shoulder a bit, and that was all." Alex shrugged.

"What do you mean he 'clipped' your shoulder?" Tom asked for clarification,

"I mean he was running, and sort of… ran into me a bit. His shoulder hit my shoulder. It wasn't like it was a violet collision or anything, it was just a bump." Alex shouldered his backpack with his right arm,

_The arm with the _good_ thumb_, he thought begrudgingly,

And pushed himself away from the wall, ready to leave.

"Which shoulder?" Tom asked, rising from the bench, ready to leave as well.

"My left shoulder; why does it matter?" Alex asked.

Tom stopped walking and faced Alex. Alex stopped, too, wondering why his friend had done so.

"What…?" Alex demanded, rather than asked.

"Well, it was your left shoulder." Tom pointed, as if it made the answer obvious.

"Sooo…" Alex looked to his friend. Still nothing. "Tom, if you're getting at anything, just say it."

Tom sighed. In one quick motion, he took a step toward Alex, lifted a hand, and poked Alex. It was a firm, but ginger poke in a spot near his left shoulder, right below his collar bone and about an inch inside of his armpit.

Alex's nose scrunched up for the brief second Tom was poking him. He blinked rapidly a few times and his eyebrows furrowed until Tom retreated, but otherwise just stared at his friend, still confused.

"See?" Tom took a step back and adjusted his backpacks position. "It's your left shoulder. Right around that stupid bullet wound." He started walking again, and Alex followed, waiting for Tom to continue. "All I had to do was put a little bit of pressure around it and you cringed."

"I did not cringe." Alex protested.

"Well alright fine. You didn't cringe. But you winced, if not just a little. I mean, I'm not saying it hurt unbearably; what I'm saying is that you still _felt _it. You still _reacted_. And if you do that from just a little poke, then when Kyle ran into you, you probably reacted more instinctively."

_Alright,_ Alex thought, _I'm impressed. _Then the after-thought, _Though kill me before I ever admit that to Tom._

"It was probably just an internal defense mechanism kicking in or something." Tom continued.

Alex nodded. "Yeah… That actually sounds pretty legitimate." The two boys finally reached their bikes, and stood around the bike rack to finish the conversation before beginning to their houses… Or at least to Alex's house.

"So the only thing I have to say to _that_," Tom concluded, "Is that you'd better get that particular involuntary reaction under control. The last thing you need to be doing is punching someone in the face during a football game whenever it gets the slightest bit physical. It'd be like _push, punch, aaahh!"_ he added with a strange accented, squeaky, high pitched voice.

"You know…" Alex said with a smirk, "I'm almost one hundred percent positive that people don't really sound like Latino mice when they get punched in the face."

"Well you just WAIT, Alex Rider! You just wait, and one daaayy! One day you will punch someone in the face, and that is precisely what they will sound like. And you'll be like '_oh Tom, I so sorry, I never doubt you again!_" Tom debated back, unlocking his bike.

"Right…" Alex mounted his already unlocked bike, "Because obviously I sound like that, too."

Tom shrugged. "Hey. Maybe you don't sound like that to everyone else, but you sound like that in _my_ head." He climbed on his bike and the two began to peddle away.

"You hear me speaking in that voice when you imagine it in your head?" Alex called back over his shoulder, wind blowing his hair every which way, "Glad to see you think so highly of me."

Tom chuckled, and pushed to ride faster. "To have your voice be imagined as majestic, deep, manly, and powerful in my head must be earned, Alex."

"Oh really? And I haven't done so yet?"

"Nope."

"Not even accounting for everything this past year?"

"Not even close."

"So who _has_ earned this then?"

"Me."

"…"

"Everyone else sounds like a mouse."

"... You're compensating for real life, Tom."

"Hey!" Tom laughed. He tried to punch Alex in the arm from his bike, but missed. Alex sped up to avoid another attempt, and the two rode all the way back to Alex's house in a pathetic but playful, bicycle chase scene.

* * *

Whoa. That was a rush... Probably not for your guys, but it was for me. It was like a crazy adrenaline rush cause I was so excited to be writing this again.

IT'S SO GOOD TO BE BACK!

Furthermore! My awesome roommate wants to make a shout-out to the people. Here it is:

"Hey public! I'm giving you all a virtual hug right now! Please hug me back!"

And thats all from her.

Thank you all for reading and sticking with me this whole time :] Another chapter is already in the works!

PS: *cough* please review *cough*


	14. The Calm Before the Storm

Chapter 14. Here we go. I'd just like to let you guys know that this story is turning out to be quite a bit longer than I had initially anticipated. But whatevs. So long as you keep reading, I'll keep writing. It's a give and take relationship like that.

This chapters is short. But look there at the chapter title. See that? That's foreshadowing for the next chapter. Shits gonna go dooowwwwwn! :p

Disclaimer: Consider it disclaimed.

* * *

By the time they had reached Alex's house, Tom was tired and out of breath. Alex, who was more used to… _achem_ "physical exertion", laughed and poked fun at his friend for it.

And _that_ earned him a prompt swat upside the head.

Jack was home by the time they got there, out in the yard raking leaves.

"Jack, we're home!" Alex called, dropping his backpack in its usual spot, nestled against the wall. Tom flopped onto the couch and propped his feet up on the coffee table, turning on the television and making it clear that he had no intentions of leaving the house (or the couch, for that matter) any time soon.

"I'll be in in a minute, kiddo, lemme just finish this up out here!" Jack yelled in from the back of the house.

Alex stood between the living room and the kitchen, half-heartedly watching the channel that Tom had chosen. He reluctantly decided that he should probably go out and help Jack, so he zipped his jacket back up and stuffed his hands in its pockets. He rolled his shoulders and cracked his back, earning him a one-eyebrow-raised look from Tom. Alex stared back with a blank face until…

"…Can I help you?" Alex asked, after neither boy looked away.

"Your back sounds like popcorn."

"…What?"

"…I'm just hungry." Tom looked back at the television; laughing to himself as he remembered the last time the two tried to eat popcorn.

"Never. Again." Alex commented, obviously thinking the same thing. It had taken them quite some time to clean up all of that popcorn. And then a good deal of time more to get it out from the places it was ground into the carpet. "Well I'm going out in the yard to help Jack finish up the leaves. You can help yourself in the kitchen in you like."

Alex turned on his heel and plodded out to the back door. Tom looked to the kitchen, then down at the couch he was sitting on, then back into the kitchen.

_If I just stare long enough, _Tom considered _… Maybe I can bring the food to me…._

Upon hearing the muted 'snick' of the back door closing behind Alex, Tom settled for wiggling himself deeper into the couch, watching television until his friend came back.

Jack was standing in the grass which was slowly turning yellow in the increasingly cold weather. Her red hair was pulled up into a ponytail, but that was flying in every direction. Her blue jacket was fitted, but her jeans were oversized and baggy; perfect for yard-work.

"Oh, hey Alex!" Jack greeted cheerfully, as Alex stepped down off of the back stairs. She put the rake straight onto the ground and leaned casually against it with a genuine smile spreading itself across her face. "Whatcha doin out here?"

"Figured I'd help you out here." Alex said, picking up a large trash bag to put the leaves in. He continued walking toward Jack, shaking the bag out to open it up.

"Why?" Jack asked, shocked.

"Because it's polite!" Alex protested. He smiled and added "It would be rude to let a woman do all of this difficult yard work. I'm the man of the house."

"Right." Jack laughed, handing Alex the rake and taking the bag from him, "So what is it you want?"

"Want?" Alex looked offended. "Jack, I _want_ nothing. I'm simply being chivalrous."

"Uh-huh." Jack said, unconvinced. "So I'll go in the house, get myself a drink, let you finish up raking, come back out and hold the bag while you shovel all the leaves into it. Sound good."

"Sounds perfect." Alex said, putting an evil twist on the word 'perfect'.

"Alright then. Here I go… walking toward the door. Leaving you to clean the yard. With you having asked for nothing. Your loss, my gain…. Half way there." She taunted.

"Fine!" Alex caved in, throwing the rake down.

"Uh-huh." Jack turned back around to face him, crossing her arms and leaning on one hip. She made no effort to hide her victory smirk. "So what do you want, kid?"

"A few people from the football team are going out to pizza and a movie tomorrow. Can I go?" Alex put on his best puppy-dog eyes… They were impressive, to say the least.

Jack was speechless for a moment. Of all the things she could think of that Alex might ask for, this was probably the one she would disregard. Alex hitting the social scene was not something she'd come to expect these years with him.  
"…Oh!" Jack finally said eyebrows rising. "Um… Oh- okay," Jack managed to stammer out, "Just… Hold on, let's talk about this."

Alex shoved his hands into his jacket pockets, already having his argument prepared.

_Though I'm not sure I'll need it…_ Alex thought to himself; after seeing how easily Jack approved.

"What do you want to talk about?" Alex asked, testing the waters.

"Well I just want to be clear on what's going on. I'm setting rules for you." Jack smiled, and the corner of Alex's lip twitched up in amusement as well. In all the years that Jack had been watching Alex, she had never once had to set any sort of rule for him. She was almost sure that Ian had established rules for him before she had arrived because Alex was so well behaved, but she had never actually heard them spoken of, so it was hard to be positive. And knowing Alex the way she did now, it was quite possible to believe that there were no guidelines or procedures that had ever been set in place for the boy. He never seemed to need them.

"So what do I have to do?" Alex said. He was just about as unfamiliar with rule-making a Jack was. He wasn't entirely sure what to expect from her…

_Not that it matters all that much, _Alex pondered_, I suppose if I need to_ break_ one of these rules…Well… not a problem…_

"Um… I guess we'll start with a curfew then." Jack contemplated, "Saaayy… Ten thirty?" She phrased it like a question.

"Eleven?" Alex pushed. Hey; if he was getting normal teenager rules; he was going to be bothersome about them like a normal teenager.

"Ten forty five; take it or leave it." Jack bargained.

"Done. What else?" Alex snapped quickly; following along with the auction styled quick haggling.

"Movies: PG 13, nothing past that. Nothing rated R, clear?"

"But Jack! I-"

"Nope! I know you've seen some whacked out stuff, but the rest of these boys haven't. PG 13, that's all."

"Fine. What next?"

"How are you getting there?"

"Probably the tube."

"Fine. But that's all. Don't get in the car with anyone I haven't approved of."

"Not even parents?"

"You know, at another time I might say yes, but what with all this 'wanting to kill you' panic, just… just take the tube. There are plenty of witnesses on the tube."

Alex sighed. He really doubted he'd have any trouble with his friends' mothers trying to kill him. Usually they just… baked him brownies or something.

"Alright. Only the tube," Alex promised, if only to pacify Jack. They only planned to take the tube anyway; no rides from parents. So might as well just agree to Jacks terms and move on.

"And lastly!" Jack proclaimed loudly, "I want you carrying a weapon."

Alex raised an eyebrow.

"Jack, you're the only guardian in Europe, possible in the entire world, who happily tells their fourteen year old boy to carry a weapon to the movies with his friends."

"Yes, and you're the only fourteen year old boy in Europe, possibly the whole world, who has to worry about being the target of an international terrorist organization. So it works out."

"…Touché." Alex admitted. "So that's all? I can go?"

"Yes, you can go. On one condition."

Alex narrowed his eyes. Jack may be sweet and loving and all that; but she was pretty damn conniving when she wanted to be.

"Name your price."

"You have to finish raking the leaves." Jack picked up the rake and handed it to Alex. "Rake 'em into a nice pile, put them in the bag, set them on the curb." She started to walk inside. "I expect it'll take about thirty minutes. Imunna go make myself a sandwich."

"Tom is inside by the way." Alex suddenly remembered at the mention of food.

Jack didn't hesitate, "Alright, so I'll make like, six sandwiches. One for me, one for you, a four for Tom…We should start charging him."

Alex shook his head, laughing, and got to work cleaning the yard.

The next day at school, everything went as smoothly as it had the past week. Alex had made it through the whole school day, bored but successful nonetheless. He had handed in all of the homework assignments that he and Tom had finished the day before; and received the grades from his last two exams. To his delight; he did very well.

_Amazing concept, _Alex thought to himself in mock surprise,_ if you're actually around to go to classes… you understand what's going on. And then… you do well on tests… Crazy…_

So sitting in final hour chemistry class; Alex classified this day: success.

"Don't forget;" Mr. Brink called out to the class before the bell rand, "Your labs are all due Monday. I want no excuses; got that? You either have it or you don't. I don't want to hear anything about how your mom made you go to your grandmother's house, or how you lost it, or anything like that. Just hand it in." The kids had begun to pack their bags while he was speaking, and they now were scattered around the room; some waiting in their seats; some standing next to their friends so they could talk. Kyle approached Alex.

"So, will you be joining us tonight?" He asked, leaning his hand on the smooth black lab table.

"Yeah," Alex said happily, "Just let me know when and where."

Kyle smiled, "We'll probably meet by the pizza place on the corner of Stony Hills Bend at six. We can all eat there, and then catch the tube to the theater on Dusty Creek lane. You know, the one over by the edge of town?"

Alex let his smile falter for a moment; but recovered before anyone could possibly have noticed. He wasn't a spy for nothing. "Alright, sounds great," Alex lied.

"Alright, cool. So we'll see you there." Kyle shouldered his bag and the bell rang. "Later, Alex!" Kyle called back.

"Later." Alex replied. He began packing his own backpack; as he hadn't done so earlier. Tom slapped his hands down on Alex's notebook as he was about to pick it up from the table.

"Alex, good sir!" Tom proclaimed.

"…Yes?" Alex looks up at his friend.

"What was that look just before?" Tom asked.

Alex was silently impressed. He had forgotten just how observant Tom could be. And immediately after that thought; Alex was silently a strange combination of worry and anger. Alex unconsciously reached up and took a little lock of his blonde hair between his pointer finger and thumb. Sometimes; it wasn't such a good thing to notice so much. Especially with a death threat looming in the air.

"You're thinking about something," Tom pointed, "You only rub your hair between your fingers like that when you're worried."

"Stop noticing things, Tom." Alex said bluntly; taking his hand away from his hair as soon as Tom made it clear that he wasn't oblivious to the nervous habit. Alex pulled his notebook out from under Tom's hand. Tom gave him a blank stare. Alex continued, "It's going to get you into trouble. You become a target when you know too much."

"I thought we agreed that I was already a target," said Tom, "That's why I've got these erasers in my pocket."

"Right, and as such, you don't want to make yourself any more of a target." Alex rose from his chair and the two began out of the classroom and down the hall. "Or at least play dumb." Alex corrected. "It's good to know what's going on around you. It not good for others to know you know."

"Alex," Tom smirked back, "I've already mastered this technique. Do you think I'd have gotten away with half the things I've gotten away with in my life if I didn't know how to act dumb?"

"Touché, Tom. Touché." Alex smiled. His friend was right, and he knew it. Tom was the poster-child for mischief. Not only that; he was the poster child for creating chaos, and then putting on an innocent face. He was tactical.

"But anyway, what was that about?" Tom repeated the question.

"The theater we're going to is near the outside of town. I'm not really supposed to leave, you know? I'm supposed to stay in town. It's just cutting it kind of close is all." Alex pushed open the door to the outside; where sunlight beamed into his eyes. He squinted after spending an entire six hours in the florescent lights of school.

"So you think it's a bad idea to go?" Tom asked, sitting on the railing and sliding down all ten steps at once. He turned around once he reached the bottom to look at Alex, who was calmly plodding down one stair at a time.

"I don't know, to be honest. I mean, technically, I won't be leaving town. And I'll be with the whole football team. And since they're all students here, it might even be a _good_ idea that I go. The threat wasn't made to me specifically. It was made to the entire school. So technically they're targets as well. And if they're all together, they're like one big pack. One big target. So like I said; maybe it's a _good_ idea that I go. To protect them and all." Alex began to unlock his bike.

"Well," Tom said, already sitting on his bike, arms crossed and waiting. "It's your choice Alex. I, personally, am not qualified to make national security decisions. But if you want my opinion, I can't see the harm in going."

"I know. I'm just being careful, is all." Alex swung his leg over the bike seat and immediately began to peddle toward his house. "So!" He continued, looking back over his shoulder to talk to Tom, "Will you be coming to my house until later, or going home?"

"Might as well go to your house and get my homework done for the weekend. There's no way I'll get anything done at home with the yelling going on in my house."

"Sounds good," Alex commented, flipping his hair back from his eyes. "Let's get going then." He pushed harder on his peddles and sped down the road toward his house with Tom following behind.

* * *

Short, sweet, to the point. Originally, this and the chapter that will follow were one big chapter, but it wound up being way too much for one chapter. So. Next time, there will be:

KAPOW!

Awesomeness!

Or at least that's the plan. Wish me luck.

Oh, also, today someone informed me that in Britain, when someone says "Knock me up in the morning." It means like... You know, knock on the door and wake me up. I was shocked. Because here, if someone says "Knock me up" it means 'get me pregnant.'

Like "Oh! He got her knocked up!"

AKA: "Oh! He got her pregnant!"

So there you go. Interesting fact of the day.

So please review, say no to drugs and alcohol, and stay in school. That is all. THANK YOU AND I LOVE YOU ALL!


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